The Story of Prometheus

The story of Prometheus is a controversial one.

Prometheus was a Titan — part of the ancient beings that preceded the Olympian gods. Prometheus’s name has origins in a Greek word that mean “foresight,” or thinking beforehand. This is in stark contrast to Prometheus’s brother Epimetheus, whose name has origins in the word “afterthought.”

With this, one can draw the conclusion that Prometheus was a reflective being, one who thought about his actions before carrying them out. He was one who could foresee consequences, one who could assess the risks while weighing the reward.

And in Greek mythology, Prometheus faced the utmost consequences for his actions. Upon taking a liking to the human race, Prometheus stole fire from the Gods and gifted it to the humans. This fire represents knowledge, technology, and civilization. It was a flame that ignited innovation and scientific progress. It was a gift that no other animal on earth received.

And for his actions, Prometheus was condemned to eternal torture by Zeus. He was bound to a rock on a mountain, and an eagle would arrive everyday to pick out his liver and eat it. As a Titan, Prometheus was an eternal being, so his liver would regenerate at night only for the eagle to inflict fresh punishment the next morning.

So, one may initially propose that Prometheus is a self-sacrificial hero. A hero that foresaw the consequences of the gift of fire, but still followed through with his actions. A hero that brought civilization and knowledge to humans, and rebelled against the “selfish” intent of Zeus.

But not everyone agrees. Mary Shelley is one of those, as she alludes to in her book The Modern Prometheus — more commonly known by the title Frankenstein. She tells the story of the young Dr. Victor Frankenstein — the obsessive scientist who creates a sapient being out of his ambitious experiments to pursue knowledge.

Victor becomes repulsed by his creation, and the creature itself is left unloved and uncared for. The creature haunts Victor’s life, and Victor is bent on killing it. Victor dies in this pursuit, warning others to seek “happiness in tranquility and avoid ambition.”

The story of Prometheus has also been referenced even more recently in the book American Prometheus, a biography of Robert Oppenheimer. Oppenheimer led the Manhattan project, a scientific collaboration which resulted in the creation of the atomic bomb. This bomb was a mechanized Frankenstein, a monster of innovation with weight moral implications.

And we can see the common theme in the wariness surrounding Prometheus’s gift. The pursuit of knowledge has dangerous consequences. The gift of fire has kept us warm — but it also has the potential to burn us and turn our civilization into ashes.

It is important to distinguish between the pursuit of knowledge and knowledge itself. The heat of ambition usually lies in this pursuit, but there is a certain coolness to the knowledge itself. The slogan “Move fast and break things” alludes to this pursuit, the brokenness is usually felt in the moment itself.

After a great achievement, there always follows a moment of “Now what?” There is quiet in this moment, it is highly uncertain, it lacks direction. In these ways, these moments are actually quite similar to that of great failure or loss.

I believe that true foresight is having the ability to sit present in these moments — before they happen. It’s not looking toward progress for progress itself, or building up a grand vision to pursue. Instead, it’s about being present here, and then being present there — but not in an idealized “there” but a true “there.” One that still contains the brokenness, uncertainty, and quiet that much of the present contains.

Which knowledge form does Prometheus embody? Does he symbolize the pursuit, or the true gift of insight itself? And if so, is the tragedy avoidable?