#titan prometheus

Prometheus Being Chained by Vulcan

Artist: Dirck van Baburen (Dutch, c 1594/1595–1624)

Date: 1623

Medium: Oil on canvas

Collection: The Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Description

I found this Prometheus T-Shirt on Etsy by DangDesignsShop, and I laughed so hard. If you wanna Honour Prometheus, I am sure He would LOVE this!! I can actually see myself wearing this, as a Lover of Prometheus, myself. Maybe some time I will get one, I would love to wear it. Check out the shop, if you are interested. I find this so funny!

Hubris, in modern terms, means excessive pride or confidence, and in ancient tragedy, it means defiance of the Gods. People often equate Prometheus as having the modern term of hubris when He stole fire and gave it to humans, when He went against Zeus. But, I have NEVER seen Prometheus as being a Titan that had that modern term of Hubris attached to Him. Excessive confidence, or over confidence, was not Prometheus, it was not in the picture, even. Prometheus KNEW exactly what would befall Him when He stole fire. He was never overconfident, but instead, I see Him as knowing the right thing to do, regardless of what authority said what, Prometheus has a HUGE and amazing moral compass, a HUGE sense of Justice. He KNEW, that humans were suffering, and so He went against the authority, not out of over confidence and pride, but out of a necessity and love for those who were suffering. He saw beyond the authority, and saw what was empathically right to do in such a situation, with no regards for His own self, but did everything for humans. I see it the same way as Prometheus would, I feel. I do not see hubris, I see it as doing what is right, regardless of the consequences of the authorities.

Zeus was tormenting humans, and Prometheus knew that, and knew what the right thing to do was. Prometheus is Forethought. He KNEW what would befall Him when He chose to steal fire, so it was NEVER a question of Him being overconfident, as He literally KNEW He would be tormented and punished, and took that responsability, and He was never too prideful either. He is anything but too prideful, He sacrificed His own self, His own ego and His own LIFE, for humans, that actually literally LACKS PRIDE AND OVER CONFIDENCE, and kindles the "fire" of humility and altruism. He was never prideful for going against the authority of Zeus. He just knew what was right to do, as stated in one of my other posts, empathy, love, compassion and understanding, are far, FAR more important than sticking to and falling in line with any form of authority, rules or regulations that hold zero regard for those suffering, but instead, creates and maintains suffering. Prometheus is empathic, and that, to me, far outweighs conforming to any sort of rule, authority or law, that harms others and lacks this empathic nature to it. Zeus did not care about humans, Prometheus did, and did what He did, knowing full well, the consequences of His actions, and still did it, despite knowing He would suffer. For these very reasons, He is far more like a Jesus figure than He is a Lucifer figure, to me.

A comment I posted on a video, I thought it really encapsulated what I felt, so I wanted to post it here too: 

“One thing about Prometheus, is that, yes, while He could be connected to Lucifer and also Satan depending on beliefs, people often overlook, forget or do not see or think about the fact that Prometheus has been known as a Trickster figure, and for good reason, and therefore, has both Lucifer/Satan connotations, as well as Christ connotations in Him. He is a Trickster like figure, so He is both and neither Lucifer/Satan and also, Christ, therefore, to me, He is perfect. Well, look at my username, any Trickster figure is perfect for me, LOL! 

But yes, an often overlooked thing about Prometheus, or all Trickster figures, for that matter, is that while He could be seen to be like Lucifer, He also could be seen to be like Christ too, depending on how you see it. THAT, is the quality of a Trickster figure, always confusing those who think in binaries, and so what all those people sprouting “Prometheus is Lucifer” are forgetting and are biased about, is that Prometheus is also said to be a Trickster like figure, again, for good reason, and so actually defies all categories and binaries, being the Trickster like figure He is, therefore, someone could easily make a good argument for Prometheus being a Christ like figure too, just as much as someone could easily make a good argument for Prometheus being a Lucifer like figure as well, and people have done that before now, it is just easier to find more comments on Prometheus being like Lucifer, though. Prometheus is associated with sacrifice and altruism, as well as rebellion and being a light bringer, and we should not forget that former aspect of Him. 

In the myths, He sacrificed His life to save humanity, sounds a lot like Christ, right? Except it was for fire instead of for sin. But at the same time, He rebelled against Zeus, and is considered a light bringer, like Lucifer. He is Prometheus, a Trickster like figure, and He defies all categories and binaries, so He can be seen as one, the other, both, or neither, depending on perspectives, and no one can actually pin Him down, and THAT is the mark of a liminal Trickster figure. Us humans see the world in such a dualistic black and white thinking way, but Tricksters are not in that black and white thinking, which is why They are so confusing to some people who are in such black and white thinking. Everyone thinks they can pin down a Trickster figure, but they usually are in too binary thinking to understand the nuanced nature of Trickster figures. Enki is similar to Prometheus too, and Enki is also seen as a Trickster like figure as well. I would personally say, Enki has more in common with Prometheus than Christ or Lucifer does, as Enki is also an ambiguous Trickster like figure, who also defies all categories and binaries. But, then again, there are some people out there who say Lucifer or Satan is a Trickster like figure, but at the same time, there are others who say that Christ has some Trickster like qualities as well… 😉 All is down to perspectives. 

Either way, generally Lucifer and Christ do not have the label of Trickster figure on Them, like Prometheus and Enki do. Trickster figures are always ambiguous, and Prometheus fits the bill, no doubt about that, no one can decide if He is like a Christ figure, or a Lucifer figure, good, or evil, everyone has opinions though, but all will fail at understanding if they try to label a Trickster figure, lol, for Tricksters love to prove you wrong in every way. Prometheus cannot be labeled as either Christ, or Lucifer, for if you do, you forget the other aspect of Prometheus, and see only one side to Him, usually the Lucifer aspect to Him, when even His own myths make it clear that He has other qualities associated to a Christ like figure too. That is the nature of Tricksters. They love to confuse and blur the lines between opposites, so labelling Prometheus as one opposite, or the other, is a real mistake to make, imo. Tricksters are supposed to blur the lines between all binaries, and Prometheus does that really well, it is just some people out there like to be selective on how they view Prometheus, seeing only one side to Him, and that is usually, “Prometheus/Lucifer – the light bringer”, and not usually “Prometheus/Christ – the altruistic sacrifice”. 

He is rarely seen as both these things, and even more rare, is Him being seen as neither Christ nor Lucifer. But thinking He is one or the other, is not understanding the nuance that a Trickster figure holds, imo. Just my long rambling opinion, since I do love Tricksters myself, I really get Them a lot, Prometheus being a Trickster like figure I really hold dear and connect to on a deep level.” 

Just got my "Sol Invictus: The God Tarot" by Kim Huggens and Nic Phillips, in the mail today. Decided to take a look at the guidebook straight away, I chose a random page, and guess what? First page I landed on, The Seven of Swords, Prometheus. I laughed so hard at that, it was a Sign from Prometheus, to me. If you didn't know, I am Godspoused to Prometheus. Although, if you know my social media accounts, my Union with and Love of Prometheus is all over them, so I suppose those of you who read this, DO know.