CLT 3378 Ancient Mythology East and West Fall 2014 Lecture Outline Prometheus Prometheus I Greek trickster god II exhibits several trickster qualities a tricky deceitful b he is amoral follows his own set of moral codes steals fire c malleable body able to regrow his liver and every day a eagle comes and eats it and the liver reforms d close relationship with humans e as a creator 1 assoc with Pandora his actions create her 2 human beings a acc to Roman poet Ovid s Metamorphoses c 8 CE b Says Prometheus created earth water and humans f transforms self world around him see III III culture hero helps a culture evolve andbuild their culture combines e and f above gift of fire IV cf Enki Ea a trickster god b creation of humans Enuma Elish Atrahasis Prometheus in Hesiod s Theogony I acc to Hesiod Prometheus son of Titan father Iapetos prometheus is 1st cousin of Zeus II Titans children of Gaia and Ouranos III Prometheus has 3 brothers a Epimetheus Atlas Menoitios b all four are punished by Zeus IV Punishments of Epimetheus Menoitios and Atlas a Epimetheus is given Pandora b Menoitios thrown into Tartaros because of his arigence c Atlas sky supporter V Punishment of Prometheus a bound b eagle eats liver daily c Heracles son of Zeus 1 will later kill eagle 2 Heracles was a famous archer VI acc to Greek tradition Prometheus bound to either a a pillar b a cliff c impaled on a pillar VII Hesiod s version either VI a or c Greek text c VIII acc to Hesiod reasons Prometheus is punished a Prometheus tricks Zeus with sacrifice b Prometheus steals fire and gives it to man IX Prometheus sacrifice trick a at Mecone where men and god came together Sicyon men and gods are trying to divide up ox to see who should get what parts b decide on portions due each side c Prometheus wraps bones in fat apparently good and meat in ox stomach apparently bad d Zeus chooses bones in fat gods portion at a sacrifice aetiology e acc to Hesiod Zeus not fooled he knew what he was doing f Hesiod s Theogony praises Zeus power wisdom X because of trick by Prometheus Zeus does not give fire to men XI Prometheus theft of fire a Promtheus steals fire and puts it in a fennel stalk pith b subject of satyr play depicted on vase c gives fire to men d Zeus has Pandora created to punish men Prometheus in Aeschylus Prometheus Bound a Prometheus as culture hero 1 Pormetheus gives fire to men 2 persecuted by Zeus unfairly b Zeus as tyrant insecure in power c Prometheus Zeus elder not peer as in Hesiod 1 acc to Aeschylus Prometheus son of Gaia aka Themis earth goddess 2 so Promethethus a Titan d no mention of sacrifice trick or of Pandora tricky nature e reasons for Prometheus punishment 1 theft of fire 2 refuses to tell Zeus a fate moira he knows f fate in question 1 Thetis sea nymph 2 son of Thetis stronger than father 3 cf Metis son will be stronger then the father cf Typhoios another threat to Zeus kingship 4 Zeus marries Thetis to mortal g Prometheus gift of fire lines 436ff civilization gets these gifts from fire a Peleus b son Achilles 1 metallurgy tools 2 chariots ships 3 medicine 4 sacrifice prophecy h Aeschylus Prometheus Unbound fragmentary 1 Prometheus released 2 reconciliation with Zeus i Prometheus j plot of play 1 acc to Hesiod amoral deceiver 2 acc to Aeschylus magnanimous culture hero 1 Kratos Power and Bia Force a Zeus henchmen b order Hephaistos to chain Prometheus to cliff 2 Okeanids arrive Okeanos chorus of play 3 Okeanos arrives Zeus sympathizer a Okeanos fresh water river encircling earth b Greek river gods horns c keras horn or branch of a river 4 Prometheus likens himself lines 342ff to a Atlas b Typhon c both persecuted by Zeus 5 Io arrives a in cow form b transformed by Zeus to hide her from Hera c Argos 1 guards Io 2 100 eyes 3 killed by Hermes d Hera sends gadfly chases stings Io d Io persecuted by Zeus 6 at end of play Hermes Zeus lackey says to Prometheus a tell of fate you know b or Zeus will blast you and cliff
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