A Greek I knew

The Prometheus reference in the last post intrigued me. I don't know who Prometheus was since the only Greek I've studied was a co-ed named Lamia . She was a raven-haired brooding type who often smoked clove cigarettes and spoke of "the nature of things." The most mysterious thing about Lamia was how she had managed to have a room for herself in what was otherwise a brimming capacity of side-stepping residents. I often sought respite from my heel-clicking ROTC roommate by dropping in on her. Lamia's space was comfortable and low lit in a way that makes one consider growing a goatee. There, her wandering rants were tolerable as fair exchange for not having to worry that at any given moment I might have to drop and give twenty. By the third quarter of that year she was forced to take a roommate, a loquacious communications major named Joan. From that day forward I found Lamia to be much less interesting.

So once again I go to Wikipedia;

The Myth of Prometheus is a series of five panels painted by Piero di Cosimo.

Prometheus in Greek mythology is the son of Iapetus, a Titan. He created the first man from clay, stole fire from the gods to give to mankind, and was punished by Zeus, the father of the gods, by being chained to a rock where an eagle came everyday to feed on his liver. According to Ovid, whose work inspired much of the mythological episodes painted by Piero, Prometheus made the figure of a man from clay in the image of the gods. He is shown before a life-size statue which stands on a pedestal.

The Myth of Prometheus

Artist	Piero di Cosimo
Year	1515
Type	Oil on panel
Location	Musée des Beaux-Arts, Strasbourg

The myth of Prometheus is widely seen as central to the Romantic poets' of the late 18th - early 19th century, since it embodies themes of the over-reacher, who strives for Romantic ideals of knowledge and experience, as opposed to religion and incapacity. This over-reacher is struck down for his ambition.

Examples of this are Mary Shelley's 'Frankenstein' and 'The Last Man', Percy Shelley's 'Prometheus Unbound', and other examples from the likes of Keats, Byron, and others

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