Prometheus and Genesis

Upon analysis of the creation account in Genesis 1-4 and Hesiod’s Prometheus myth, a number of points of comparison occur. To some extent there are many similarities between these two myths. Firstly both Pandora and Eve are created second to man. This shows that they are socially inferior to men which can be connected to the culture at the time. Furthermore both women were created from man. Eve was made from the rib of Adam “And the rib, which the Lord God taken from the man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.” Pandora was made by the god Hephaestus from earth which is what men are made up of.

Secondly both myths show women as the direct cause for the fall of mankind. The Hesiod Myth shows Pandora wilfully open the jar which causes evil to be unleashed on the world. The Genesis myth shows Eve taking the fruit from the tree of knowledge which they have been forbidden to eat. This act resulted in the couple losing their childlike innocence and realising that they were naked and also in their banishment from the Garden of Eden.

Thirdly both myths show people trying to obtain what their god wants. The punishment that Adam and Eve had to endure like having to go through the pains of labour in order to bear children and having to work hard to gain nourishment are connected to the same punishments that humanity had to endure due the sacrificial trick that Prometheus played on Zeus. These included man having to work hard in order to obtain food from crops whereas before food was just given with no agricultural ploughing of the fields being needed. This establishment of agriculture was a mark of differentiation between man and animal. This superiority of man over animal is also seen in Genesis when Adam names the animals that gods brings to him. This implies that Adam holds power over beasts and is above them, just as man is above animals in the Hesiod myth due to mans structured and skilled method of cultivation as opposed to an animal’s random killing. Furthermore this ploughing is connected to the fertile soil of Pandora that if seeded will bring about children in order to carry on their legacy and look after them in old age. This is similar to the command of God to Adam and Eve that they must “bring forth children” (Genesis 3:16).

However there are also many differences between these two myths. Firstly Eve was created from the rib of Adam and so is made directly from a human. However Pandora was made from the clay of the earth and is therefore less human than Eve. Secondly Eve was made to be a companion to man “It is not good that should be alone, I will make him an help meet for him” (Genesis 2:18) In contrast to this, Pandora was made to punish and destroy man. Therefore Eve was the cause of the punishment but Pandora was the punishment. Thirdly, although the character of the devil could be seen as being the serpent in the Genesis myth and as Prometheus in Hesiod’s myth (due to the fact that they both defy their gods authority), there are differences in the amount of courage that it would have taken to disrespect their authoritative figures.  The serpent could be seen as taking the greater risk due to the unknown power of god which could be an omnipotent figure. However Prometheus could be seen as being braver because he was aware of Zeus’ power and even though he knew that Zeus had fought his way to the top, Prometheus still had the guts to go through with the sacrificial trick.

Myth in Greek drama

The myth of Prometheus bound by Aeschylus to some extent depicts the characters of Prometheus and Zeus in a typical way compared to Hesiod’s theogony. The portrayal of Prometheus in this extract displays to some extent a “typical” attitude in comparison with the Prometheus bound myth which was written by Aeschylus. The Prometheus we see in Prometheus bound is one of great compassion and generosity to the mortal humans. This is shown when Prometheus says “my great love for mankind” which displays Prometheus in a very philanthropic way. This is similar to the attitude of Prometheus that we see in Hesiod’s Theogony because he shows that he cares for the humans by acquiring the best portion of the sacrificial feast for them. However to some extent the attitude displayed towards Prometheus in the is passage is not typical because in Prometheus bound the chorus say “Over my eyes a mist of tears and fear spread” which shows that there is great sympathy for Prometheus. However this is not the attitude we see displayed towards Prometheus in Hesiod’s Theogony. Instead we see great hatred and anger from Zeus towards Prometheus. 

The character of Zeus that is portrayed in Prometheus bound is mainly a negative one. This is shown firstly when the god Hephaestus says “for the heart of Zeus is hard” which presents Zeus in a harsh form with no love or compassion for the people that betray him. The second negative example is when the chorus say that “Zeus governs with lawless customs”. This shows Zeus as a tyrannical and unjust leader. These points show similarities to the character of Zeus that is described in the extract from Hesiod’s Theogony. However Zeus is also portrayed in a positive way in Aeschylus’ Prometheus bound myth when Hermes says how great Zeus is as a law maker and that Prometheus is at fault.

This inconsistent attitude shown town towards Zeus is also shown in another play by Aeschylus, the play of the Suppliants. This play almost shows a complete contradiction of the character of Zeus. There are many scholarly opinions given when determining the reasons for this change in attitude shown towards Zeus. One of which is the opinion of H. W. Smyth whose explanation was called the “Evolutionary Theory”. He argued that “As Prometheus had been softened in course of time, so a change has come upon his antagonist who is under bonds to Fate. Right has been added to might. Mercy and equity temper the omnipotence of Zeus...” The problem with this is that there is no textual evidence that Zeus learns mercy, equity and justice. However I am more inclined to agree with the one of many explanations given by Gilbert Murray to the reason for this contrast in the portrayal of Zeus. Murray argues that the actions of Zeus are “inscrutable by our mortal minds and therefore unjudgeable.” This observation seems more appealing to me as it leaves the nature of Zeus as mysterious. This theory also seems more convincing due to the difference in a mortals understanding of behaviour and an omniscient and divine character like Zeus’ actions.

Myth and Psychoanalysis

The myths of Oedipus, Prometheus and Antigone are proof that without classical mythology there would be no psychoanalysis. Freud is one of the main psychoanalytic theorists of all time. He brought the analysis of the psyche and the analysis of the mind together to form psychoanalysis. Freud's analysis of Sophecles' Oedipus is his most prominent and famous piece of work because it has made the greatest impact on society. Freud seemed to be more fascinated by the context of the myth more than anything else which involved the main character, Oedipus, killing his father and marrying his mother. This lead Freud to famously claim that, 'it is the fate of all of us, perhaps, to direct our first sexual impulse towards our mother and our first hatred and our first murderous wish against our father.' This shows Freud using this myth as a tool to explain the working of man's psyche. The self blinding of Oedipus in the myth could symbolise our ignorance and blindness to our unconscious desires or maybe our deliberate refusal to acknowledge them.

 The myth of Prometheus was also analysed by Freud, in this myth there is also a resentment shown towards a father figure because Prometheus resents Zeus (the father of the gods). In the scholarly article 'Freud on Prometheus', the symbolic meanings of certain aspects of the myth are brought to light. The first is the fennel stalk that Prometheus keeps the fire in; according to Freud this represents a penis. His reasons for this connection with a penis are that by reversing what is kept in the fennel stalk (fire), you end up with water. The penis is the organ used to evacuate water from the body, therefore according to Freud the fennel stalk is a symbol for a penis. In my opinion this theory is not convincing enough, it seems as though he has relied on the idea of opposites in order to make his theory seem legitimate.

One of the key questions that arises from Freud’s invention of psychoanalysis is what if psychoanalysis had chosen another myth? If Freud has chosen for example the myth of Antigone then our understanding of psychoanalysis would be very different in more than one way. Firstly the key themes in Antigone differ to those in Oedipus. In Antigone we see women going against men, religion against law and individual against sate. These themes concentrate more on the politics of the developing psyche which contrast with the themes of Oedipus which concentrate on impulses and drives. Therefore if Freud had chosen Antigone, psychoanalysis would be more concerned with ethics and responsibility. The second way in which choosing this myth would have changed psychoanalysis would be that Freud would have paid closer attention to the female psyche. The reason for this is due to the fact the character of Antigone is such a strong character in the myth that Freud would have been forced to include her in his analysis. However as we can see from the way that he totally ignored Jocastas suicide when it came to analysing the Oedipus myth and in his subsequent Oedipus complex theory it was probably a deliberate decision not to choose the myth of Antigone. This may have been due to his old fashioned and sexist attitude, which would mean that he would not have wanted to promote female behaviour in a positive way.

Myth and ritual

There has been great controversy over the connection between myth and ritual. According to W. Burkert "Ritual, as a form of communication, is a kind of language. It is natural, then, that verbalized language, man's most effective system of communication, should be associated with ritual." This is shown in the Prometheus myth in Hesiod on many occasions. 

The first is the sacrificial ritual of the ox to Zeus, this is a form of communication without words which brings people together. The second is the when Prometheus angers Zeus on more than one occasion by tricking him with the sacrifice, then by stealing back fire. This is an expression of Prometheus' feelings and through this ritual act he is able to communicate his emotions. The third example of rituals in this myth is Zeus' reaction, firstly during the sacrifice when Zeus reacts by hiding fire which is his way of expressing his annoyance at Prometheus trying to outsmart and directly challenge his authority. This act by Zeus would subsequently affect the ritual events that involved fire for humans because these were now not possible. Secondly another ritual act is shown when Zeus responds to Prometheus taking back the fire. Zeus gets Hephaestus to make a shy maiden to live among men in order to punish the human race for the second time. The fact that Prometheus and Zeus retaliate on more than one occasion causes their actions to be ritual acts of communication.