PROME'THEUS (Lat., from Gk. Ilpowiddis, from rpoAndlis, pronWthE's, foresighted. from rpO, before nietis, wisdom; connected with paBetr, noithcin, to learn: less probably connect ed with Skt. pramanthu, fire-drill. from pre, be fore months, churning, from math, to whirl, churn. produce fire by friction). The hero of one of the most interesting of the Greek myths. The story goes back to a very early period, and in its origin may be compared' with the many similar legends as to the origin of fire. usually by a theft from the sun or the gods, or the beneficent gift of some kindly animal or great hero. In this character as the fire-bringing god kb rup 06pos Ochs, ho pyrphoros thews) Prometheus had an altar in the Academy at Athens, where he was joined with Ilephmstus and Athena, as those who had given to men the arts and crafts that brought civilization. He was honored with a special fes tival, of which the chief feature was a torch-race from his altar in the Academy to the city. In Hesiod Prometheus is a Titan, son of Iapetus and Clymene, brother of Atlas. Mentrtius, and Epimetheus. Angry at a trick played on him by Prometheus, Zeus deprived men of fire, but Prome theus stole it from the hearth of Zeus, hid it in the pith of a fennel-stalk, and conveyed it to earth. In punishment Zeus sent Pandora (q.v.) to Epimetheus and bestowed thus upon men the race of women "who dwell as a great plague among mortal men." Prometheus himself was fettered to a column, and visited daily by an eagle who devoured his liver, which always grew again during the night, so that his torment was unceasing till Hercules came. and by the good will of Zeus, who thus gave greater glory to his son, slew the eagle and freed Prometheus. In this version the Titan really works men harm in his efforts to overcome by trickery the high de signs of Zeus. It should also be noted that the myth of Pandora seems to he originally a sepa rate legend of the origin of suffering and woe. only later connected with the theft of fire. This primitive myth was reworked by the Athenian tragedian :1::schylus in his Promethean trilogy. of which the Prometheus Bound has survived, and was brought more into harmony with the Athenian cult and the conceptions of a later time. Here Prometheus is the son of Themis (whom the poet identifies with Gcea, the earth ?, and through her possesses the gift of foreknowl edge and prophecy. He thus foresees the ultimate triumph of intelligence over brute force in the struggle between Zeus and the Titans, and conse quently joins the winning side. When. however. Zeus, as the establisher of a rule of law and order, plans to replace the wretched race of men by a nobler order of beings. Prometheus in pity
defeats this design by stealing fire and instruct ing men in all the useful arts, so that there now exists no ground for Zeus to remove them from the earth. For this rebellion Hephvestus is re quired to nail Prometheus to a lonely cliff in Scythia near the ocean. Here the extant play shows him still defiant, execrating the ingrati tude and cruelty ofeZeus, who can thus punish an ally whose only fault is a desire to benefit mankind, and at the same time exulting in the secret knowledge that the violence of Zeus to his father, Cronos, unless atoned for, must be pun ished. His threats and defiance rise to such a pitch that Zeus casts him into Tartarus.
The play seems to represent Prometheus as a martyr and Zeus as a cruel tyrant, but closer examination shows that Zeus is bound to punish the rebel who has tried to overthrow the new reign of law. The later dramas of the trilogy seem to have made this conception clear. Zeus was reconciled to Cronos and the Titans. and Prometheus was brought to yield to the now secure Zeus. Hercules by the will of the god slew the eagle and freed the prisoner, in whose stead the centaur Chiron, suffering from an incurable wound, surrendered his immortality and descend ed to the regions of the dead. The closing drama seems to have related the establishment of the worship of Prometheus at Athens. In the later versions, especially on the sarcophagi, besides minor variations, we find Prometheus represented as the actual creator of men, whom he fashions out of clay, and at whose death he is sunk in sorrow and meditation. The whole myth in its origin and signification, and especially in its treatment by .Eschylus, has been the subject of lengthy discussion and has produced an extensive literature, much of which is to be found in edition: of the play. Consult: Welcker. Die eschyluische Triloqie Prometheus, and IVach tray ( Darmstadt. 1824, 1826) : Hermann. "De _Eschyli Prometheo Soluto." in his Opuseula. vol. iv. (Leipzig, 1831) ; these two works developed a great controversy and have historical interest. Consult also: Wecklein's Prometheus Bound of .Eschylus, trans. by F. D. Allen ( Boston, 1891) ; Preller-Rnbert, Griechische Mythologie I. (Leip zig. 1887). The play has been translated by Mrs. Browning. On works of art see: 0. Jahn. "Prom& th(p," in innali deli' Istituto 19 (Rome, IS'471, and "Veber ein Sareophagrelief inm Museo Bar bonico." in Bcrichte der sachsischen Gesellschaft der ll•issensghaftcn ( Leipzig, 18491; Milehh6fer, Die Befreiung des Prom, thews, Berliner Winekel mannsprogramm, 42 (Heflin, 1882 ) Baumeister, Denkmaler des klassisehen Altertums, s.v. Prome theus (Munich. 1889).