Prometheus

By Fatima and Danielle

Who is Prometheus?• Prometheus means forethought, which means that he has

the gift of foreseeing things• He is a Titan, and is the son of Lapetus and Themis.• He was chose by the Gods to make man out of clay. And

Prometheus made man to resemble the Gods.• Prometheus grew fond of his creations, giving them

knowledge and stealing the gift of fire for them

Social/Cultural Context

• A hero• saviour of mankind• rebellion against tyrannous authorities(i.e. Zeus)

• Some see him as the destructor of mankind, as he also brought destruction on all of mankind (i.e. evils and misfortunes)

HistoricalContext

• Ancient Græco-Roman myth • 525 B.C: Aeschylus’s Prometheus Bound, written during Greek

Renaissance, whilst under the rule of a tyrant leader, Hippias, who was overthrown by a democratic leader.

• 1802: Percy Shelley's Prometheus Unbound, written during French Revolution. In this version of the Prometheus myth, Prometheus serves as a heroic rebellious figure (much like Milton's Satan in Paradise Lose) who overthrows an absolute ruler in favour of more democratic principles.

• 1818: Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus, written during the industrial revolution. This version of Prometheus portrays Prometheus as the bringer of destruction, as opposed to the saviour of mankind.

Prometheus vs. Frankenstein

Similarities• Family Line• Thirst for knowledge• Creating life• Stole from God/nature• Caused destruction• Suffered eternal

punishment

Differences• Love for Creation• Prometheus ultimately

saved by Hercules• Henry murdered by the

creature

Quotes• “my family is one of the most distinguished of [Geneva]”

(pg.33)• “I was capable of a more intense application, and was more

deeply smitten with the thirst of knowledge”(pg.38)• “A new species would bless me as its creator and

source”(pg.55)• “It was the secrets of heaven and earth that I desired to

learn” (pg.39)• “...felt the never-dying worm alive in my bosom” (pg.89)• “Of what materials was I made, that I could thus resist so

many shocks, which, like the turning of the wheel, continually renewed the torture?”(pg.181)