Prometheus
In Greek mythology, Prometheus (in ancient Greek Prometheús, “the Provident”) is a Titan, son of Iapetus and Themis (or Clymene according to the authors), and brother of Atlas, Menoetios and Epimetheus. He is the father of Deucalion, conceived with Pronoia (or Clymene). According to another minority tradition[1], Prometheus was born from the union of Hera and her lover, the Giant Eurymedon.
Myth
Creation of man by Prometheus (Athena stands on the left), marble bas-relief, Italy, 3rd century, Louvre Museum.
Creation of man by Prometheus (Athena stands left), marble bas-relief, Italy, 3rd century, Louvre Museum.
According to Hesiod's Theogony, it was Prometheus who created men from a lump of clay[2] and, despite the opposition of Zeus, taught them metallurgy and other arts. After the victory of the new gods led by Zeus over the Titans, Prometheus also gave them the fire, which he had stolen from them, and thereby entered into conflict with Zeus. He had him chained to Mount Caucasus to have his liver devoured there every day by an eagle.
Heracles delivered him during his twelve labors but in order not to derogate from the oath of Zeus who had sworn that the Titan would remain forever chained to the Caucasus, Prometheus had to wear throughout his life an iron ring from his chains attached to a piece of Caucasian stone.
The legend of Prometheus suggests that the ancient Greeks discovered that the liver is one of the few human organs to regenerate spontaneously when damaged.
Prometheus becomes immortal thanks to the centaur Chiron:the latter, accidentally injured by the poisoned arrows of Heracles, no longer supporting the suffering but unable to heal or die, trades his immortality for his mortality, with the authorization of Zeus. This one is indeed grateful to Prometheus for having predicted to him that if he married the Nereid Thetis, the son they would have together would be more powerful than him and would dethrone him.
Posterity
In philosophy, the myth of Prometheus is accepted as corresponding to the metaphor of the contribution of knowledge to men.
It is also taken up by the philosopher Hans Jonas, in the Principle of responsibility (1979), to allude to the reckless risks linked to the consequences of certain human behaviors and certain technical choices, in relation to the ecological, social and economic balance of the planet.
Some psychoanalysts speak of the "Prometheus complex", a perpetual search for knowledge. They also admit that it is the Oedipus complex of intellectual life.
One can also find in the Promethean myth, part of the foundations of what will later become Christianity [ref. necessary]. Thus, Prometheus descends from Heaven as a god to incarnate himself carnally and save Humanity.
Conversely, Freemasons make a link between Lucifer (etymologically, the bringer of light) and Prometheus (who brings fire to men). By analogy, the opposition between Prometehe and Zeus is understood as the opposition between Lucifer and Christ. This is the ancient luciferianism of the lodges.
According to some Greek or Latin versions, he was chained to a rock, but according to others, he was crucified there. And we can see a parallel between this myth and that of Adam and Eve, driven out of Paradise for having tasted the fruit of the tree of knowledge of Good and Evil. These myths are also evocative of hubris, the human temptation to measure up to the gods, or more generally to rise above one's condition.
Source
* Lucian, Prometheus or the Caucasus