Prometheus

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The Torture of Prometheus, painting by Salvator Rosa (1646–1648).

Prometheus (Greek: Προμηθεύς; acc. Latin and German Prométheus, Gen. Προμηθέως Promēthéōs "the forward-thinking one", from the Greek prefix πρό- pro- "before, ahead, forward" and μέδομαι medomai "to think, to ponder", but also from μελέτη melete "exercise, practice") is in Greek mythology a son of Iapetus and brother of Epimetheus, as well as friend and cultural founder of mankind. He is often referred to as the creator of humans and animals, for example in Plato and Ovid[1]. He, the bringer of fire and teacher of mankind, has much in common with Hephaestus, but also with Apollo and Athena. His epithets include Pyrphoros ("fire-bringer"), Iapetionides ("son of Iapetos") and Desmotes ("bound one").

In Athens there was an altar dedicated to him, which was decorated with torches during the festivities held in his honour, the Promethea. In addition, there was another sanctuary in Athens where he and the god Hephaistos were worshipped together.

The figure of Prometheus has been received in many ways in cultural history, for example by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.

The radioactive chemical element promethium with the atomic number 61, discovered in 1945 as a fission product of uranium, was named after him and was intended as a warning to mankind, which at that time began the nuclear arms race.

The spiritual background of the legend as interpreted by Rudolf Steiner

„Prometheus and Epimetheus are sons of the Titan Japetos. The Titans are children of the oldest generation of gods, of Uranos (heaven) and Gaa (earth). Kronos, the youngest of the Titans, pushed his father from the throne and usurped world domination. In return, he and the other Titans were overpowered by his son Zeus. And Zeus became the supreme of the gods. Prometheus stood on Zeus' side in the battle of the Titans. On his advice, Zeus banished the Titans to the underworld. But the attitude of the Titans lived on in Prometheus. He was only half a friend of Zeus. When Zeus wanted to destroy the people because of their wantonness, Prometheus took care of them and taught them the art of numbers and writing and other things that lead to culture, especially the use of fire. Zeus was angry with Prometheus for this. Hephaestus, the son of Zeus, had to form an image of a woman of great beauty, whom the gods adorned with all possible gifts. Pandora was the woman's name: the all-gifted one. Hermes, the messenger of the gods, brought her to Epimetheus, Prometheus' brother. She brought him a small box as a gift from the gods. Epimetheus accepted the gift, even though Prometheus had advised him never to accept a gift from the gods. When the box was opened, all kinds of human plagues flew out. Only hope remained inside, and that was because Pandora quickly closed the lid. Hope therefore remained as a dubious gift from the gods. - Prometheus was forged on a rock in the Caucasus at Zeus' command because of his relationship with man. An eagle constantly feeds on his liver, which keeps replacing itself. Prometheus must spend his days in agonising solitude until one of the gods voluntarily sacrifices himself, i.e. consecrates himself to death. The tortured man endures his suffering as a steadfast tolerant. He was told that Zeus would be dethroned by the son of a mortal if he did not marry this mortal. It was important to Zeus to know this secret; he sent Hermes, the messenger of the gods, to Prometheus to find out about it. Prometheus refused to give any information. - The saga of Heracles is linked to the saga of Prometheus. Heracles also came to the Caucasus on his wanderings. He killed the eagle that devoured Prometheus' liver. The centaur Chiron, who, although suffering from an incurable wound, cannot die, sacrifices himself for Prometheus. The latter is then reconciled with the gods.

The Titans are the power of the will that emerges as nature (Kronos) from the original world spirit (Uranos). In this context, one should not think merely of will forces in abstract form, but of real will beings. Prometheus belongs to these. This characterises his nature. But he is not entirely titanic. In a certain sense, he is like Zeus, the spirit who takes over the world after the unrestrained force of nature (Kronos) has been subdued. Prometheus is therefore the representative of those worlds that have given man the will, the forward thrust that is half natural and half spiritual power. The will points to good on the one hand, to evil on the other. Depending on whether it tends towards the spiritual or the transient, its fate is shaped. This fate is the fate of man himself. Man is forged on the ephemeral. The eagle gnaws at him. He must endure. He can only reach the highest if he seeks his destiny in solitude. He has a secret. It consists in the fact that the divine (Zeus) must marry a mortal, the human consciousness itself, bound to the physical body, in order to give birth to a son, the human wisdom (the Logos) that redeems God.

This makes the consciousness immortal. He must not betray this secret until a myst (Heracles) approaches him and removes the violence that continually threatens him with death. A being, half animal, half man, a centaur, must sacrifice himself to redeem man. The centaur is man himself, the half-animal, half-spiritual man. He must die so that the purely spiritual man may be redeemed. What Prometheus, the human will, spurns, Epimetheus, the intellect, takes away. But the gifts offered to Epimetheus are only sufferings and plagues. For the intellect clings to the void, the transient. And only one thing remains - the hope that one day the eternal will also be born out of the transient.“ (Lit.:GA 8, p. 87ff)

Literature
References to the work of Rudolf Steiner follow Rudolf Steiner's Collected Works (CW or GA), Rudolf Steiner Verlag, Dornach/Switzerland, unless otherwise stated.
Email: verlag@steinerverlag.com URL: www.steinerverlag.com.
Index to the Complete Works of Rudolf Steiner - Aelzina Books
A complete list by Volume Number and a full list of known English translations you may also find at Rudolf Steiner's Collected Works
Rudolf Steiner Archive - The largest online collection of Rudolf Steiner's books, lectures and articles in English.
Rudolf Steiner Audio - Recorded and Read by Dale Brunsvold
steinerbooks.org - Anthroposophic Press Inc. (USA)
Rudolf Steiner Handbook - Christian Karl's proven standard work for orientation in Rudolf Steiner's Collected Works for free download as PDF.


References

  1. ↑ Cf. Ovid, Metamorphoses, 1, 78ff.
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