To Conclude..

Overall, this blog has given me a great insight into Prometheus and his actions. It has also shown me that the gods can be seen from many different viewpoints, and in that respect are similar to humans, but act on a much higher level. By looking back at my previous postings I have come to realise that Prometheus’ actions and reasons can be contested. In a sense he wanted to avenge his titan brothers and punish Zeus. He saved mankind from being destroyed by Zeus and taught them how to grow crops and make tools and gave them fire to keep them warm etc. However he decided to do this in a dishonest way, by means of using mortals as a weapon to trick Zeus. When I think about it, Prometheus didn’t really accomplish much in tricking Zeus, because he knew all along he was being tricked. Instead I assume that it was Prometheus’ fate to eventually be chained to the rock for his trickery. In terms of humanity, Pandora opening her jar and releasing all the evils of the world upon mankind was meant to show what separates humans from gods. Gods have everything and know everything and live forever, however humans die, and they have to work to earn their living. But humans have one thing the gods don’t have, and that is hope. Hope that someday their hard work will pay off, or hope that they might get lucky by doing nothing all day. These differences are thanks to Prometheus and his master plan to get revenge on Zeus. Through Prometheus’ actions the human race has made great progress, in terms of technology, which can be seen in modern society. This is all thanks to fire. ‘Before fire, men were no better off than beasts’, explains Dougherty, but with fire, ‘humans will be able to develop the skills and crafts necessary to create a better world for themselves’ [Dougherty (2006): 75]. The bringing of fire may have, in Hesiod’s terms, brought about the fall of humanity from the Golden Age to the Iron Age, but Prometheus himself in Aeschylus’ Prometheus Bound, says that before he intervened men lived like animals [Aesch. PB. 442-71]. Therefore Prometheus made them ‘masters of their minds’ [Aesch. PB. 442-4], and saved them from Zeus’ destruction. Also, although Pandora released sickness upon the earth, Prometheus had already taught man how to use medicine, so mankind was not necessarily cursed. Therefore Prometheus had given mankind some great skills during his ‘rebellion’ against Zeus.

In conclusion, the Prometheus myth can be interpreted in many different ways. Ways in which Prometheus and Zeus can be contested as to who is ‘right’ and who is ‘wrong’. I believe that the main purpose of the Prometheus myth is to establish the difference between gods, humans and beasts. Prometheus aided man in becoming free-thinkers, enabling them to rise above beasts. No matter what kind of conclusion you come to regarding whose ‘side’ to choose between Prometheus and Zeus, the ever present conclusion is that Prometheus instils in humanity the human condition, which inevitably separates man from beasts and gods. Hesiod’s Works and Days emphasises the necessity and difficulty of work for mankind, whereas Aeschylus’ Prometheus Bound celebrates the technological accomplishments that mankind has been able to make thanks to Prometheus’ gifts. Prometheus helps 5^th century Athenians to think about what it means to be human, and he will continue to do so throughout history.

Works cited:

Dougherty, C. (2006), Prometheus, ‘Gods and Heroes of the Ancient World’, Routledge

Hesiod’s Theogony

Hesiod’s Works and Days

Aeschylus’ PrometheusBound

Prometheus and Fire

While writing this blog about Prometheus, one thing has been on my mind. Despite all he had done to inevitably make life for mankind harder, did any of the Greeks worship him? Well, while going through Dougherty’s book (again), I saw that she had written a section on ‘The Cult of Prometheus at Athens’ [Dougherty (2006): 46]. She notes that Prometheus may have been neglected in other cities, but not so in Athens. The city of Athens honoured Prometheus by linking him in myth and ritual with Athena and Hephaestus. In this chapter Dougherty highlights Prometheus’ association with fire and both its benefits and detriments. The Athenians established an altar to Prometheus at the Academy, which was marked as a starting place for many important processions and events. One of the popular events, of which I am going to discuss in detail, is the Panathenaic festival. This was possibly one of Athens’ most important civic festivals, which included a torch race that began at the altar (located outside of the city) and finished in the city centre by lighting a sacrificial fire. In this blog posting I want to discuss what Prometheus and the gift of fire meant to the ancient Athenians in particular, and also what it tells us about Prometheus.

‘Fire is the foundation of civilised life – it provides mankind with the technology to provide warmth, light, and protection from enemies and the elements – and yet it can also be the source of its total destruction’ [Dougherty (2006): 47].  This description of fire’s uses to mankind is quite disturbing. At the same time it is both a source of security and devastation, therefore it must be handled with care. Fire plays an important role in almost every Greek religious act, yet it also represents divine will by its potential destructive power, and neither in shrines or homes was a fire allowed to die. This brings me to discuss an important influence Prometheus’ bringing of fire had on the Greeks; the Panathenaic festival. In this festival there was a torch race (lampas) which represented Prometheus’ gift of fire to mankind; particularly to commemorate the course he took in order to bring it from heaven to earth. We know that Prometheus stole fire and his it in a fennel stalk, but it wasn’t until the 5^th century that he became associated with the torch. Pausanias describes the torch race and its course as follows:

‘In the Academy there is an altar of Prometheus, and they run from it towards the city holding burning torches. The contest is both running and keeping the torch burning at the same time. If the torch of the first runner goes out, he no longer has the victory, but it belongs to the second runner in his place; but if he too allows his torch to go out, the third runner is the winner, and if everyone’s torch is extinguished, no one gains the victory.’ [Pausanias1.30.2]

By ‘to the city’, Pausanias likely means to the Dipylon Gate and some scholars argue that this symbolises the original arrival of fire to mankind [Dougherty (2006): 53]. Other scholars have suggested that the torch race was run in order to replenish the fire at the Prytaneum, where lighted torches were brought from the civic hearth to individual altars [54]. This way the torch race was to honour all the gods, not just Prometheus. These two contrasting views are interesting, as it seems to me that the Athenians were either honouring Prometheus for his gift of fire, or they were using his gift to keep the rest of the gods placated, for humans suffer because of Prometheus’ trickery. Also sacrifice, fire’s destructive power and divine will come to mind when placating the gods, as Zeus’ thunderbolts could potentially cause fire and devastation, and fire is needed in order to make a sacrifice and appease the gods.

This vase (c. 410 B.C.) shows three runners from the winning team of a torch race. They all wear victory crowns and are pictured with Nike, the goddess of victory. One of the athletes has the torch in his hand and is about to light the sacred fire on the altar. This is the typical kind of scene you would find on a vase during the 5^th century, athletes receiving their prizes during the crowning ceremony. These were popular at the time, and also show how popular the Panatheneia was to Greeks.

From looking at the cult of Prometheus at Athens, it is clear that it did not exist to honour Prometheus, but to celebrate his gift of fire. However he was worshiped along with other gods, specifically Hephaestus and Athena, for his association with fire. Thanks also to Prometheus’ introduction of sacrifice, fire was a way for mortals to communicate with the gods and worship them. Overall this posting has shown how the Greeks used Prometheus’ gift of fire. However they seem to dismiss much worship towards Prometheus himself, and instead use fire to worship all the other gods. I have the impression that the Greeks did this in order to please the gods in using the ‘rebel’ Prometheus’ final ‘gift’ to them in order to reassure them that they worship the ‘true’ king of the gods, and not the trickster Prometheus who was punished gravely for his deeds against Zeus. This proves to me that the Greeks’ fear of the gods was greater than anything Prometheus gave to them.

 

Works cited:

Dougherty, C. (2006), Prometheus, ‘Gods and Heroes of the Ancient World’, Routledge

Pausanias Description of Greece

Information About the Torch Race

Pictures:

Vase of Victorious Athletes

Pandora

In my previous blog posting I discussed Prometheus and Zeus’ relationship and how it affected the development of mankind. At one point in brackets I said how I would discuss Pandora and her involvement in the Prometheus myth, which is exactly what this blog entry is for. The picture I have used in this posting shows Pandora opening the box containing all the evils of the world and about to release them to plague mankind. This represents the beginning of mankind’s troubles in return for Prometheus giving fire to them in an attempt to make their lives easier. When Prometheus stole fire back for mankind, Zeus sent Pandora and her ‘jar of evils’ in exchange, and now the world is a much harder place for mortals [Dougherty (2006):38].

                           ‘Because before that the human race

                           Had lived off the land without any trouble, no hard work,

                           No sickness or pain that the Fates give to men

                           (And when men are in misery, they show their age quickly).

                           But the woman took the lid off the big jar with her hands

                           And scattered all the miseries that spell sorrow for men.’ [Hes. WD. 90-5]

This passage from Hesiod’s Works and Days represents the difference between mortals and gods. Now, mortals had to work for their livelihood, particularly in the institution of agriculture, in order to live. Zeus not only introduces illness, fear and sorrow to mankind, but also hard manual labour. This distinction between mortals and gods is that mortals must work for their livelihood but the gods do not.

Just like at Mekone, when Prometheus disguised the lesser portions of the Ox, Pandora was beautiful on the outside, yet she has a deceptive interior. Dougherty explains that she is created ‘in exchange for fire’, and like it she is ‘always hungry’ [39]. Unlike in the Christian creation story of Adam and Eve, Pandora is created as a punishment for man rather than as a companion [40]. This means that Pandora was similarly a trickster like Prometheus. Zeus offered her as a gift to Prometheus’ slow-witted brother, Epimetheus, whom Pandora essentially tricks by opening her jar of troubles and sickness. However the jar also contains Hope, and with this introduced into Prometheus’ myth emphasizes a characteristic of the human condition: man’s imperfect knowledge of the future [43]. This is another distinction between gods and mortals, the gods have and know everything and mortal men do not; humans only have hope and expectations to guide their choices about the future.

Ultimately from what I have discovered in this blog post and my previous one, Prometheus’ actions in attempting to trick Zeus on behalf of mankind factor in to their separation from the gods and their subsequent difficulties as a result of this. Hesiod seems to read the myth as a fall from the Golden Age, since the actions of his Prometheus, the conception of sacrifice and the subsequent theft of fire, indicates the moment when humans first parted with the gods, and life has been a struggle ever since. This view on the Prometheus myth gives me the impression that he was trying to use the human race as a scape goat for his actions in order to get revenge on Zeus for punishing his brothers.

Works cited:

Dougherty, C. (2006), Prometheus, ‘Gods and Heroes of the Ancient World’, Routledge

Hesiod’s Works and Days

Pictures:

Pandora