Week 2_2 Zeus Part 2 Slides PDF

PROMETHEUS “forethought” Son of Iapetus and Clymene (an Oceanid) in Hesiod Siblings: Atlas, Menoetius, Epimetheus Sources: Hesiod, Apollodorus, Aeschylus, Hyginus Musei Vaticani, Cat. 16592 PROMETHEUS The Myth of Prometheus Theogony 507-569; Works and Days 29-62 Callimachus – 3rd C BC Peter...

PROMETHEUS “forethought” Son of Iapetus and Clymene (an Oceanid) in Hesiod Siblings: Atlas, Menoetius, Epimetheus Sources: Hesiod, Apollodorus, Aeschylus, Hyginus Musei Vaticani, Cat. 16592 PROMETHEUS The Myth of Prometheus Theogony 507-569; Works and Days 29-62 Callimachus – 3rd C BC Peter Paul Rubens, Prometheus Bound (1618) PROMETHEUS, PART 2 Works and Days 42-105 Zeus hides fire, Prometheus finds fire, gives fire to man Zeus gets even more angry and dreams up a punishment even worse than not having fire (serious business…how does one make spanakopita without fire??) Mmm, fennel Peter Paul Rubens, Prometheus (1636-1637) ZEUS’ UNBOXING PARTY Hey humans, I got you something. It’s called a “woman” “The Myth of Pandora’s Box” I asked for an iPhone. This is a Huawei PANDORA Theogony 570 – 616 Works and Days 47 – 105 Attic Red Figure krater, attributed to the Niobid Painter, British Museum 1856, 1213.1 PANDORA – WORKS AND DAYS Thus he spoke and the father of gods and men burst out laughing. He ordered renowned Hephaestus as quickly as possible to mix earth with water and to implant in it a human voice and strength and to fashion the beautiful and desirable form of a maiden, with a face like that of an immortal goddess. But he ordered Athena to teach her the skills of weaving at the artful loom, and golden Aphrodite to shed grace about her head and painful longing and sorrows that permeate the body. And he commanded the guide Hermes, slayer of Argus, to put in her the mind of a bitch and the character of a thief. (59–68) Thus he spoke and they obeyed their lord Zeus, son of Cronus. At once the famous lame god molded out of earth the likeness of a modest maiden according to the will of Zeus. Bright-eyed Athena clothed and arrayed her, and the Graces and mistress Persuasion adorned her with golden necklaces. The beautiful-haired Seasons crowned her with spring flowers, and Pallas Athena fitted out her body with every adornment. Then the guide and slayer of Argus contrived in her breast lies and wheedling words and a thievish nature, as loud-thundering Zeus directed. And the herald of the gods put in her a voice, and named this woman Pandora, because all who have their homes on Olympus gave her a gift, a bane to men who work for their bread. (69–82) PANDORA - THEOGONY When he had fashioned the beautiful evil in recompense for the blessing of fire, he led her out where the other gods and mortals were, exulting in the raiment provided by the gleaming-eyed daughter of a mighty father. Amazement took hold of the immortal gods and mortals as they saw the sheer trick, from which human beings could not escape. For from her is the race of the female sex, the ruinous tribes of women, a great affliction, who live with mortal men, helpmates not in ruinous poverty but in excessive wealth, just as when in overhanging hives bees feed the drones, conspirators in evil works; the bees each day, the whole time to the setting of the sun, are busy and deposit the white honeycombs, but the drones remain within the covered hives and scrape together the toil of others into their own belly. Thus in the same way high thundering Zeus made women, conspirators in painful works, for mortal men. (585–602) British Museum 1881,0528.1 INTERPRETATION Both myths contain many etiological elements Sacrifice Archetype heroes Nature of gods Nature of humanity and the soul Divergent Ideas Pandora as first woman bringing evil or somehow part of the Ages of Man? Our boy Hesiod Misanthropist or misogynist? Pandora Aeschylus, Prometheus Bound Prometheus: “Listen to the troubles that were among mortals and how I gave them sense and mind, which they did not have before. I shall tell you this, not out of any censure of humankind, but to explain the good intention of my gifts.” 1/3 Aeschylus, Prometheus Bound Chorus: “You suffer an ill-deserved torment, and confused in mind and heart all are astray; like some bad doctor who has fallen ill, you yourself cannot devise a remedy to effect a cure.” 2/3 Aeschylus, Prometheus Bound Prometheus: “In a brief utterance learn the whole story: all arts come to mortals from Prometheus!” 3/3 PROMETHEUS BOUND Io, priestess of Hera in Argos Argus Panoptes Hermes, “The Slayer of Argus” Kunthistorisches Museum Wien, Antikensammlung IV 3729 IO AND ARGUS Spirit of Argus also pursues Io, who is driven into a frenzy Comes across chained Prometheus and they talk it out Religious: Io’s suffering leads to fulfillment of prophecy Family line leads to Heracles Lycaon Ovid (43 BCE – 17 CE) Metamorphoses Jan Cossiers, Jupiter and Lycaon (1636-1638) Peter Paul Rubens, Deucalion and Pyrrha (1636-1637) COMMON ELEMENTS OF MYTH Creation Succession Flood Descent to the Underworld Hero-King THE EPIC OF GILGAMESH Dates to around 2800 BC Sumerian, translated into other languages Flood tablet, Neo-Assyrian, 911-612 BC Found at Nineveh BIBLICAL NOAH Genesis 6-9 1000 – 500 BC Egerton manuscript 1350-1375 NOAH IN QURAN Sura 11, 71 AD 600 Hafiz-i Abru’s Majma al-tawarikh, “Noah’s Ark,” c. 1425 FLOOD MYTHS Deucalion and Pyrrha (Greek/Roman) Noah (Judeo-Christian, Islamic) Utnapishtim (Babylonian) Atrahasis (Akkadian/Babylonian) Ziusudra (Sumerian) 16th century Ottoman, “Prophet Noah and the Ark” Popol Vuh: Maya creation story recorded in 16th c. CE