Alienation of the Human and Divine: Prometheus, Fire, and Pandora PDF 2024

Alienation of the Human and Divine: Prometheus, Fire, and Pandora Winter 2024 Alienation of the Human and Divine Theogony Formation of cosmos, divine succession Humanity? Humanity Alienation of the Human and Divine Origins and decline Cause of suffering, death Relationship with the gods Prometheus,...

Alienation of the Human and Divine: Prometheus, Fire, and Pandora Winter 2024 Alienation of the Human and Divine Theogony Formation of cosmos, divine succession Humanity? Humanity Alienation of the Human and Divine Origins and decline Cause of suffering, death Relationship with the gods Prometheus, Pandora, Ages Prometheus Child of Iapetus and Clymene Iapetus + Clymene Atlas Menoitios Prometheus Epimetheus Prometheus = "forethought" Epimetheus = "afterthought" Prometheus Hesiod - starts with punishment That happened when the gods and mortal men were negotiating At Mekone. Prometheus cheerfully butchered a great ox And served it up, trying to befuddle Zeus' wits. For Zeus he set out flesh and innards rich with fat Laid out on the ox hide and covered with its paunch. But for the others he set out the animal's white bones Artfully dressed out and covered with shining fat. And then the Father of gods and men said to him: "Son of Iapetos, my celebrated lord, How unevenly you have divided the portions." Thus Zeus, sneering, with imperishable wisdom. And Prometheus, whose mind was devious, Smiled softly and remembered his trickery: "Zeus most glorious, greatest of the everlasting gods, Choose whichever of these your heart desires." This was Prometheus' trick. But Zeus, eternally wise, Recognized the fraud and began to rumble in his heart Trouble for mortals, and it would be fulfilled. Theogony 318 - 334 "Iapetos' boy, if you're not the smartest of them all. So you still haven't forgotten your tricks, have you?" Thus Zeus, angry, whose wisdom never wears out. From then on he always remembered this trick And wouldn't give the power of weariless fire To the ashwood mortals who live on earth. But that fine son of Iapetos outwitted him And stole the far-seen gleam of weariless fire In a hollow fennel stalk, and so bit deeply the heart Of Zeus, the high lord of thunder, who was angry When he saw the distant gleam of fire among men, And straight off he gave them trouble to pay for the fire. Theogony 341 - 352 Prometheus Sacrifice Zeus keeps fire from mankind Prometheus delivers fire to man Introduction of woman (Pandora) But Zeus got his spleen up, and went and hid How to make a living, all because shifty Prometheus Tricked him. That's why Zeus made life hard for humans. He hid fire. But that fine son of Iapetos stole it Right back out from under Zeus' nose, hiding The flame in a fennel stalk. And thundering Zeus Who rides herd on the clouds got angry and said: "Iapetos' boy, if you're not the smartest of them all! I bet you're glad you stole fire and outfoxed me. But things will go hard for you and for humans after this. I'm going to give them Evil in exchange for fire, Their very own Evil to love and embrace." Works and Days 65 - 76 Role of trickery, deception Prometheus Key role in formation of cosmos Uranus, Cronus, Zeus Prometheus as "trickster" Trickster figure Prometheus Greece Odysseus Cyclops Polyphemus Trickster figure Prometheus Greece Odysseus Norse mythology Loki Trickster figure Greece Odysseus Prometheus Norse mythology Loki American South Brer Rabbit Prometheus Trickster figure Modern examples? Prometheus Trickster figure Disruption, mere trickery Culture hero Prometheus as culture hero Prometheus Introduction of fire Ignites civilization: cooking of food, forging tools and weapons, agriculture "Prometheus brought fire that hath proved to mortals a means to mighty ends." Now listen while I tell of mortals' pain, How primitive they were till I fired their wits. I tell you, not from disgust at men, but showing How much they owe me. Before then, they had eyes That blankly gazed, ears hearing empty sound. Shapes in a dream, they blundered through long years... Their work was mindless Till I explained the courses of the stars. I taught them mathematics, wisdom's lore, And words in letters, of all things remembrancer, Mother and servant of arts... Who before me dared claim To show men metals hidden deep in the earth Copper and iron, silver, even gold? No one. So, to put it in a word, All human arts came from Prometheus. [Aeschylus] Prometheus Bound 442 - 506 Prometheus as culture hero Prometheus Fire brings great benefit But also entails work, labour, struggle And separation from the divine Idea of cooking - severs human ties to nature Prometheus Separation from the divine Connections with knowledge Parallels with story of Eve Then the serpent said to the woman, "No! You will not die! God knows in fact that on the day you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." The woman saw that the tree was good to eat and pleasing to the eye, and that it was desirable for the knowledge it could give. So she took some of its fruit and ate it. She gave some also to her husband who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened and they realized that they were naked. So they sewed fig leaves together to make themselves loincloths. Genesis 3:1 ff. Prometheus Punishment Chained to crag, eagle eats liver Punishment Prometheus Chained to crag, eagle eats liver Freed by Herakles Punishment Prometheus Chained to crag, eagle eats liver Freed by Herakles Story of Io Punishment Prometheus Chained to crag, eagle eats liver Freed by Herakles Story of Io As innocent victim of despot Prometheus Different views on Prometheus Hesiod: trickster rightly punished by Zeus Others, e.g., [Aeschylus] Prometheus Bound Prometheus as benefactor Authority of Zeus, esp. early in reign Ambivalence toward individualism Intrinsic value of individual Key component of Greek humanism Prometheus But extreme assertion of individual rights can disrupt Damaging to individual and state Myth and History Dark Ages to Archaic period Prometheus Chieftain society to Polis (self-governing community) Competitive to cooperative values Ultimately - democracy Reflected in myth Achilles Tragedy in 5th century Athens Prometheus myth as focal point for a variety of Greek concerns, anxieties, beliefs Prometheus Hesiod - punishment for theft of fire? Pandora He made this lovely evil to balance the good, Then led her off to the other gods and men Gorgeous in the finery of the of the owl-eyed daughter Sired in power. And they were stunned, Immortal gods and mortal men, when they saw The sheer deception, irresistible to men. From her is the race of female women, The deadly race and population of women, A great infestation among mortal men, At home with Wealth but not with Poverty. It's the same as with bees in their overhung hives Feeding the drones, evil conspirators. The bees work every day until the sun goes down, Busy all day long making pale honeycombs, While the drones stay inside, in the hollow hives, Stuffing their stomachs with the work of others. That's just how Zeus, the high lord of thunder, Made women as a curse for mortal men, Evil conspirators. Theogony 368 - 386 Pallas Athena put on the finishing touches, And the quicksilver messenger put in her breast Lies and wheedling words and a cheating heart, Just like rumbling Zeus wanted. And the god's own herald Put a voice in her, and he named that woman Pandora, because all the Olympians donated something, And she was a real pain for human beings. Works and Days 96 - 102 Pandora Pandora = "all gifted" But perhaps "Giver of All” Epimetheus = "Afterthought" Because before that the human race Had lived off the land without any trouble, no hard work, No sickness or pain that the Fates give to men (And when men are in misery they show their age quickly). But the woman took the lid off the big jar with her hands And scattered all the miseries that spell sorrow for men. Only Hope was left there in the unbreakable container, Stuck under the lip of the jar, and couldn't fly out: The woman clamped the lid back on the jar first, All by the plan of the Aegisholder, cloud-herding Zeus. But ten thousand or so other horrors spread out among men, The earth is full of evil things, and so's the sea. Diseases wander around just as they please, by day and by night, Soundlessly, since Zeus in his wisdom deprived them of voice. There's just no way you can get around the mind of Zeus. Works and Days 111 - 125 Pandora Women as containers Minoan and Mycenaean civilization Women as containers Pandora Minoan and Mycenaean civilization Women's tasks in Greece Women as containers Minoan and Mycenaean civilization Pandora Women's tasks in Greece Ritual: basket, grain, knife hidden Arrhephoria Erichthonius Women as containers Minoan and Mycenaean civilization Women's tasks in Greece Pandora Ritual: basket, grain, knife hidden Arrhephoria Erichthonius Myth: Danaids Pandora Women as containers Childbirth, womb Perseus Women as containers Pandora Childbirth, womb Perseus Death Women as containers Pandora Childbirth, womb Perseus Death Consumption Women as containers Childbirth, womb Pandora Perseus Death Consumption Overlap with perceptions of women and female function Pandora 1) Parallels between Pandora and sacrifice Form The famous Lame God plastered up some clay To look like a shy virgin, just like Zeus wanted, And Athena, the Owl-Eyed Goddess, Got her all dressed up in silvery clothes And with her hands draped a veil from her head, An intricate thing, wonderful to look at... Intricately designed and a wonder to look at. Theogony 353 - 364 1) Parallels between Pandora and sacrifice Pandora Form Trickery Pandora as trick He made this lovely evil to balance the good, Then led her off to the other gods and men Gorgeous in the finery of the owl-eyes daughter Sired in power. And they were stunned, Immortal gods and mortal men, when they saw The sheer deception, irresistible to men. Theogony 368 - 373 1) Parallels between Pandora and sacrifice Form Pandora Trickery Pandora as trick Prometheus vs. Zeus 2) Pandora is only a byproduct of a contest between males Pandora Note place in narrative Question of male control of procreation 3) Women the only race of things that gets created as opposed to being born Idea of metis Pandora Creation of a male god Cf. Aphrodite, Athena Mother? Father? No family line 4) Story of Pandora is etiological Pandora But it accounts for the origins of what? Because before that the human race Had lived off the land without any trouble, no hard work, No sickness or pain that the Fates give to men (And when men are in misery they show their age quickly). But the woman took the lid off the big jar with her hands And scattered all the miseries that spell sorrow for men. Works and Days 111 - 116 4) Story of Pandora is etiological Pandora But it accounts for the origins of what? Pandora and Eve Origins of Eve? Yahweh God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone. I will make him a helpmate." So from the soil Yahweh God fashioned all the wild beasts and all the birds of Heaven. These he brought to the man to see what he would call them; each one was to bear the name the man would give it. The man gave names to all the cattle, all the birds of heaven and all the wild beasts. But no helpmate suitable for man was found for him. So Yahweh God made the man fall into a deep sleep. And while he slept, he took one of his ribs and enclosed it it flesh. Yahweh God built the rib he had taken from the man into a woman and brought her to the man. Genesis 2.18-22 4) Story of Pandora is etiological Pandora Pandora and Eve Origins of Eve? Eve made of? Alienation from divine? Then the serpent said to the woman, "No! You will not die! God knows in fact that on the day you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." The woman saw that the tree was good to eat and pleasing to the eye, and that it was desirable for the knowledge it could give. So she took some of its fruit and ate it. She gave some also to her husband who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened and they realized that they were naked. So they sewed fig leaves together to make themselves loincloths. Genesis 3:1 ff. 4) Story of Pandora is etiological Pandora Pandora and Eve Origins of Eve? Eve made of? Alienation from divine? Female agent Fruit and fire Breaking of commands After story of Pandora Five Ages Decline of humankind Gold, Silver, Bronze, Heroes, Iron Golden was the first race of articulate folk Created by the immortals who live on Olympos. They actually lived when Kronos was king of the sky, And they lived like gods, not a care in their hearts, Nothing to do with hard work or grief, And miserable old age didn't exist for them. Works and Days 129 - 134 Golden age Five Ages Before Pandora? Cronus? No account of creation of man Continuing decline And when they did finally grow up and come of age They didn't live very long, and in pain at that, Because of their lack of wits. They just could not stop Hurting each other and could not bring themselves To serve the immortals, nor sacrifice at their altars The way men ought to, wherever and whenever. So Zeus, Kronos's son, got angry and did away with them. Works and Days 153 - 159 And Zeus fashioned a fourth race To live off the land, juster and nobler, The divine race of heroes... They all died fighting in the great wars, Some at seven-gated Thebes, Kadmos' land... And some, crossing the water in ships, Died at Troy for the sake of beautiful Helen. Works and Days 178 - 187 I wish I had nothing to do with this fifth generation, Wish I had died before or been born after, Because this is the Iron Age. Not a day goes by A man doesn't have some kind of trouble... [there's] no respect at all For the man who keeps his oaths, the good man, The just man. No, they'll keep all their praise For the wrongdoer, the man who is violence incarnate, And shame and justice will lie in their hands. Works and Days 201 - 224 Age of Heroes Likely insertion into eastern tradition Five Ages Continuing decline Conflict, injustice, strife Compare Theogony Opening lines: Two kinds of Strife (Eris) It looks like there’s not just one kind of Strife That’s Eris - after all, but two on the Earth. You’d praise one of them once you got to know her, But the other’s plain blameworthy. They’ve just got Completely opposite temperaments. One of them favours war and fighting. She’s a mean cuss And nobody like her, but everybody honours her, This ornery Eris. They have to: it’s the gods’ will. Works and Days 21-28 The other was born first though. Ebony night Bore her.... When a person’s lazing about and sees his neighbour Getting rich, because he hurries to plop and plant And put his homestead in order, he tends to compete With that neighbour in a race to get rich. Strife like this does people good. So potter feuds with potter And carpenter with carpenter... Works and Days 28-40 Five Ages Story of brother Perses Now, Perses, you lay these things up in your heart And don't let the mischief loving Eris keep you from work, Spending all your time in the market eyeballing quarrels And listening to lawsuits... Let's settle this feud right now With the best kind of judgment, a straight one from Zeus. We had our inheritance all divided up, then you Made off with most of it, playing up to those bribe-eating lords who love cases like this. Damn fools. Works and Days 42 - 56 Story of brother Perses Five Ages Changing social and economic conditions of the time Land Migration and colonization Story of brother Perses Changing social and economic conditions of the time Five Ages Land Migration and colonization Wealth Social strife Alternate story of decline and creation of mankind Five Ages Zeus decides to eliminate mankind via flood Prometheus warns son Deucalion and his wife Pyrrha Alternate story of decline and creation of mankind Five Ages Zeus decides to eliminate mankind via flood Prometheus warns son Deucalion and his wife Pyrrha Idea that gods and mortals descendants of a common ancestor Flood in Genesis, Epic of Gilgamesh