Prometheus and Heracles continue to be the most famous heroes in Greek mythology. Aeschylus’ Prometheus Bound, focuses on Prometheus, a Titan, who is being punished for stealing fire from the Gods and giving it to humans. While his act was both one of defiance towards the Gods and of tremendous generosity to humanity, his disobedience is what ultimately causes his punishment. Although Greek cultural values involved the obedience and worship of the Gods, Prometheus' love and willingness to suffer for humanity inspired him to oppose the Gods’ will. Moreover, Prometheus claims that “by helping man I brought my troubles on me” (267). In essence, while he foresaw that he would be punished for his actions, he did not expect such a terrible, unjust, undeserving, and cruel torture.
Similarly, in Apollodorus’ Heracles and the Heraclids, Heracles is surrounded
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Therefore, he ended up deceiving, and opposing the Gods.
Furthermore, Prometheus kindness, compassion, and sacrifice are the last gesture he can make for humanity. He is equivalent to Christ as they both suffer horrible tortures for the sake of humankind. Both Prometheus and Christ pay the consequences of helping humans and essentially give their lives for humanity.
Prometheus help was fundamental in Zeus’ victory. However, when Zeus came to power, his regime was particularly cruel and tyrannical. Prometheus argues, “these were the services / I rendered to this tyrant and these pains / the payment he has given me in requital / This is a sickness rooted and inherent / in the nature of tyranny: that he that holds it does not trust his friends” (221-226). Essentially, when Zeus came to power, humanity became a lowly creature. Not only did Zeus overstepped his boundaries, but his rules were also oppressive, and he extended unjust actions towards
Allusions to the Greek Myth of Prometheus allow insightful readers to withhold a better understanding of the story of Prometheus. First, from the poem “Prometheus” by Marin Sorescu we were given a piece that has far more meaning to the text then is depicted. “Whoever said I was chained” (Sorescu 1). Said the mighty Prometheus, which I believe portrays how free Prometheus feels due to the eagle’s presence and how itself has the freedom to soar in the sky and be free with itself. Next, from D'aulaires’ Book Of Greek Myths we read through a number of passages that gave us more understanding as to how Prometheus cares for his creations, the humans. “Prometheus could not bear to see his people suffer and he decided to steal fire, though he knew
Legitimacy may rest on the belief of tradition, upheld by leaders who at the time portray authority. ‘Oedipus the King’ conveys Oedipus following the path of the Delphic Oracle after learning that the land must be rid of corruption; as a result, of the fate of the previous leader of Thebes, Laius. Apollo commands “drive the corruption from the land…” (Sophocles, 2000, ll.109-110). “Murder sets the plague-storm on the city.” (Sophocles, 2000, ll.114-115). Whist the message of Apollo is passed on through the mouth of Creon, it is evident that Apollo holds the authority. Oedipus is quick to act to the message delivered, knowing Athenians rely on him to rid the city of the plague.
Aeschylus’ Prometheus Bound portrays a greek god detained by a superior for disobedience against the latter’s rule. On the other hand in Euripides’ Hippolytus portrays lust and vengeance of the gods and the extent that they can go to to avenge it.
And so for men Zeus plotted grief and trouble. He hid fire. And Prometheus, bold son of Lapetus, stole it back from the side of wise Zeus, in a fennel stalk, and gave it to men and Zeus who delights in the thunder did not notice” (Bauschatz, ). Clearly, disobedience and deceiving the gods leads to chaos because Prometheus who tried to steal the fire from Zeus enraged him and therefore ordered the creation of Pandora as punishment and evil delivered to men.
Tricksters work in a variety of ways, including being self beneficial or societally beneficial. For many, the philosophy influences the inspiration that they use to possibly carry out acts against a protagonist. In the case of Prometheus, he directly goes against Zeus to help mankind. While Prometheus may have been somewhat ignorant to disobey the rule of the Olympian God Zeus, he did it because he
As I said before, Zeus is the father of all gods and humans. He represents the idea of an independent moral code that all humans and immortals must obey. If any god or mortal did not follow this moral code, Zeus would enforce justice and watch over the punishment of the wrongdoers (Cunningham and Reich 33). Although Zeus is known for representing a moral code, Zeus’ behavior was far from moral. “Zeus was subject to pleasure, pain, grief, and anger, but he was most susceptible to the power of Eros – love, which often got the objects of his desire in a lot of trouble with his wife, Hera. Zeus wa...
Zeus believed that what Prometheus did, disrespected the Gods, giving humans the opportunity to gain hope. This hope is what Zeus doesn’t want humans to have because hope is what makes humans stronger and strive for more out of their short life spans.
This paper is to show that Heracles is the prime example of a hero’s journey through his actions and the struggles that he faced during his life until he was about to die but instead of death, his father, Zeus, saved him and he conquered the mortal realm, to become a god.
The first question which must be addressed is, "Why have these men been made to suffer?" To simply say that Zeus or God is displeased is not enough, and to say that Prometheus and Job have sinned is confusing. Most Western readers approach these works with a pre-conceived notion of sin which has been born out of the Judeo-Christian theological tradition a tradition which dictates that there are specific moral rules which must be followed, and to transgress them is to sin. While this interpretation of sin may be functional for a reading of Job, it is useless for understanding Prometheus Bound.
In addition to this myth, the heroes of Greek myths and legends are rewarded for their services to mankind. For example, after the death of Heracles, the gods reward him by making him immortal and allowing him to live with them on Mount Olympus. Good behavior is only sometimes rewarded because the gods who enforce the system of reward and punishment focus more of their attention on people whom they can punish. There are far more Greek and Roman myths describing cautionary tales to dissuade people from practicing behaviors the society deems immoral or hubristic. For example, in the myth of Prometheus, Prometheus is severely punished for stealing fire and technical wisdom from the
The gods in power, like Zeus, exhibit bias, dishonor, betrayal, deception, and many other humanly characteristics. One memorable scene is when Zeus and Poseidon are in conflict with each other over the Achaens versus the Trojans. Zeus controls the battle by “lifting the famous runner Achilles’ glory higher,” (Homer 13: 404). Zeus plays both sides in this scene, acting like a double agent which is dishonorable. Zeus’s bias is prevalent throughout the poem; specifically, he is “bent on wiping out the Argives, down to the last man,” (Homer 12: 81-82). Just like mortals such as Agamemnon and Achilles view each other with suspicion and intolerance, the gods experience identical emotions of wariness, anger, and irritation. This human-like behavior is not restricted to Zeus. Later in the text, Hera lies to Aphrodite to use her powers to manipulate her own husband Zeus. If one looks at Hera as a heavenly entity, her reaction may not make sense, but when it is viewed as a manifestation of human emotion, it become almost reasonable. Her scheming response to Zeus’s meddling with the war is spurred by her support for the Trojans. Hera’s manipulation and Aphrodite’s ego don’t stand alone as examples of this divine humanity. These instances suggest that the deities are being presented in this unique way to help explain behavior of the humans in The
In a society in which social position was vital for having a successful family, the Greek and Roman families internally struggled with one another. This constant conflict stems from the father’s desire for control and the society’s high placement of power. In the Greek myth Demeter and Persephone, Zeus’s interest for his selfish gains prompts him to “ ( give ) Persephone to the Lord of Dead to become his queen “ ( Rosenberg Demeter 96). Zeus does not ask Persephone nor Demeter, his beloved wife, presenting that he does not show any opinions on their feelings. Although Zeus in reality just wanted to have a powerful family with the addition of Hades, his love for power overrode his love for his family and created a tension between the other members and him. In another Greek myth, Jason and the Golden Fleece, shows man’s love for supremacy through ...
“Gods can be evil sometimes.” In the play “Oedipus the King”, Sophocles defamed the gods’ reputation, and lowered their status by making them look harmful and evil. It is known that all gods should be perfect and infallible, and should represent justice and equity, but with Oedipus, the gods decided to destroy him and his family for no reason. It might be hard to believe that gods can have humanistic traits, but in fact they do. The gods, especially Apollo, are considered evil by the reader because they destroyed an innocent man’s life and his family. They destroyed Oedipus by controlling his fate, granting people the power of prophecy, telling Oedipus about his fate through the oracle of Apollo, and finally afflicting the people of Thebes with a dreadful plague. Fundamentally, by utilizing fate, prophecies, the oracle of Apollo, and the plague, the gods played a significant role in the destruction of Oedipus and his family.
A myth or story captures the reader’s attention in a way that a fact simply can’t. The beauty of the myth leaves the reader with no other choice than to continue reading until the last word has been read and they are fulfilled with facts, morals, rights, wrongs, truths, lies, the impossible and human experiences. The ‘Prometheus’ myth identifies the importance of friendship and provides a lesson as to how the breakdown of friendships can cause rivalry, punishment and revenge. The severe punishment which Zeus imposes on Prometheus of denying him access to fire shows his jealousy and anger in attempting to force Prometheus to live in a state of primitive savagery. Tips such as the need to use cleverness to survive, the stupidity of wickedness and the greed of the powerful are explored in the Prometheus myth in a way that allows the reader to understand complex human relationships which facts alone can not do just as too.
To begin with, the ancient Greeks explained the creation of the universe, in particular the Earth and its elements, by a system of anthropomorphism in which their gods are human-like and are representatives of these elements. For example, Zeus is the god of heaven while Hades is the underworld lord (Hesiod, p.145). Unlike the Christians’ god who is “flawless”, the ancient Greeks’ divinities are portrayed as humans and are far from perfect. Their gods behave like ordinary people except they are immortal and have supernatural powers. Like any human being, the Greeks’ gods have love, jealousy, sadness, etc. For instance, in Euripides’ Bacchae, Zeus falls in love with Semele, which makes Hera becomes jealous and tries to kill Semele and Dionysus (Euripides, p.209). The Greeks even have a physically imperfect god, Hephaestus. This is to say that the gods’ attitude toward mortals is affected by how people treat them as the Greeks’ gods have emotions like humans.