Prometheus

Aries Miao -- Legend of Fire

Freedman's "Legend of Fire" created for Melbourne Metropolitan Fire Brigade. 2021 HAROLD FREEDMAN

The artwork "Legend of Fire" from Freedman, is a mural created for Melbourne Metropolitan Fire Brigade. In this parting, the artist uses three different primary colors to emphasize the glory of Prometheus and the danger of fire. Specifically, we can find the gray for the Prometheus, the orange for the fire, and the blue for the earth.  By analyzing Prometheus's actions, we can understand that the art tells the story about Prometheus sending the fire to humans. For instance, he holds fire in his hand carefully and stares into space and fire. It looks like he will give the fire to the earth in the next second. Obviously, we can find deep love in his eyes. We will discover the myth of Prometheus from this work and understand the duality meaning of both.

This image is like Prometheus's image in the myth. He is one of Zeus’s sons. (Aeschylus,211-215) First, in Ovid's Metamorphoses, Prometheus is the one who loves humans, and his actions influence the fate of humans. In Greek mythology, he helps humans use the fat-wrapped bones instead of the meat to trick his father, Zeus. (Ovid, 68-88) Thus, the humans get the good part of the beef rather than the god. However, as punishment, Zeus will not give the human fire. It is a severe problem since, as Hesiod says, "fire means human livelihood."(Hesiod, 507-569) Meantime, according to the etiology of sacrifice, fire is essential for making sacrifices, considered symbolic of civilization. (Morford,114-116) Therefore, due to the favor of humans, Prometheus steals the fire to them, which is described in this artwork.

Besides the accent story, we can consider how the duality shows in both painting and myth.  First, it is an artwork for the Melbourne Metropolitan Fire Brigade. Interestingly, the aim of a fire brigade is not to create fire but to stop the fire. It shows the duality of fire in human life: on the one hand, we cannot live without fire as a necessary living tool or a symbol of civilization; on the other hand, the fire could destroy our life, even kill us. For instance, a fire accident in a house could burn the place we live and hurt many lives.

Moreover, it also shows the duality of fire as the punishment from Zeus. According to the myth, since Prometheus steals fire, Zeus chained him up and let an eagle eat his liver. As a god, Prometheus is immortal, which means his liver grows every day, and so it becomes endless torture. Also, Zeus asks Hephaestus to create Pandora, who brings sinful desires to the human. The punishment of fire accidents also has two reasons. It could be caused by humans themself, such as an arsonist, who can be considered as "Pandora." (Hesiod, 570-616)At the same time, humans also suffer from natural fire accidents, which can be regarded as the eagle from the gods.

Furthermore, as the image of Prometheus is a hero helping humans, the fireman also can be considered as the "god" who saves people from the fire and keeps our property as saving the civilization. For example, Prometheus helps the Greeks with their ceremony, and firefighters protect our cultural heritage in libraries and museums.

Last but not least, when the Greek thanks Prometheus, we also need to thank the fireman. Giving the fire to humans makes Prometheus suffer from endless pain, while the fireman also faces extremely risky situations when they fight with the fire. Only in the U.S., there are 96 on-duty deaths per the United States Fire Administration. (Firefighter Nation Content Directors

 ) Their bodies are not immortal, but their spirits live on.  

To sum up, in the "Legend of Fire," Freedman not only disables the myth of Prometheus but also inspires us to understand the duality of Prometheus and his gift for us, fire. It may remind us that whatever we get from God or nature, the most significant thing is how to use them. Also, we should appreciate the firemen donating for our safety the same as the Geek for Prometheus.

Works Cited

Aeschylus, and Anthony J. Podlecki. Prometheus Bound. Aris & Phillips, 2005.

Design, UBC Web. “Legend of Fire Muralprint Page.” Legend of Fire Mural | Monument Australia, www.monumentaustralia.org.au/themes/government/state/display/32314-legend-of-fire-mural/photo/3.

Hésiode , and Martin Litchfield West. Theogony. Clarendon Press, 1982.

O., Morford Mark P, et al. Classical Mythology. Oxford University Press, 2019.

Ovid, et al. Metamorphoses. W. W. Norton & Company, 2021.

Daniel Lee - Prometheus Bound

In Greek Mythology, Prometheus is a Titan and known as a god of fire. In this piece, titled Prometheus Bound, this painting of Prometheus is one of Rubens’s most famous works, influenced by Renaissance in Europe.

This painting was a collaboration between the primary painter Peter Paul Rubens and animal-specialty painter Frans Snyders between 1611-1618. While the majority of the artistry was done by Reubens, Synders, with his expertise in painting animals, provided the eagle in the painting.

Rubens was born in Germany and at a young age, he was interested in art. He was born near the end of the Renaissance period, where European art and music thrived. He traveled around Spain to copy and learn from Renaissance and classical art (The National Gallery). Classical art refers to the period in European history where they saw a “great revival of interest in the classical learning and values of ancient Greece and Rome” (History.com). For context, another well known artist in the Renaissance period was Leonardo da Vinci.

This painting depicts the story of Prometheus being punished by Zeus by being chained to a mountain while an eagle is sent to eat his liver, and because he is a god, his liver regenerates so the eagle comes back to eat his liver for eternity (Morford 91). In the story, Prometheus steals fire from Zeus to give to humans. Looking closely at the painting, it depicts Prometheus upside down being attacked by an eagle on top of him, with its beak grabbing his liver, ready to tear out.

Some of the key features of Renaissance art were realism, a focus on human anatomy, and individualism. In this painting, realism is shown through the realist depiction of Prometheus as a human and through the depiction of the eagle. This realistic approach juxtaposes the depiction of the unsettling view of the eagle eating Prometheus’s liver in all it’s gorey detail. Alongside this, there was a big focus on human anatomy as the contours imperfections of the human body are well outlined and fully highlighted in this painting. Lastly, the focus and central attention of the painting is Prometheus, which is an example of Individualism, the expression of focusing on individual persons rather than groups. The eagle itself blends well with the background, so that all of the audience’s attention would turn to the unique uncomfortable position of Prometheus.

Works Cited

History.com Editors. “Renaissance Art.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 15 Oct. 2010,

www.history.com/topics/renaissance/renaissance-art.

The National Gallery, London. “Peter Paul Rubens.” The National Gallery,

www.nationalgallery.org.uk/artists/peter-paul-rubens.

O., Morford Mark P, et al. Classical Mythology. Oxford University Press, 2019.

Rubens and Snyders. Prometheus Bound.1611-1618, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia,

USA.