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