MultifariousBirdLady Posted November 11, 2009 Share Posted November 11, 2009 Some of us have had a lot of trouble sorting things out and dealing with painful emotions after leaving Christianity. Tonight I read Aeschylus's Prometheus Bound, a play written in ancient Greece in which Prometheus is presented as a clever rebel of a God who disobeyed a tyrannical Zeus to save humankind, and was punished unjustly for this offense by being chained/nailed to a remote, exposed rock face. There is a quote I found in here (spoken to Hermes, the young messenger/servant of Zeus) which I found echoes my own feelings about the difficulties I went through after leaving Christianity vs. the mental imprisonment I felt before I left. Prometheus: Be sure of this: when I set my misfortune against your slavery, I would not change. I thought some others might also appreciate that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedPillAddict Posted November 11, 2009 Share Posted November 11, 2009 Consider it appreciated. Makes me think of the Matrix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MultifariousBirdLady Posted November 11, 2009 Author Share Posted November 11, 2009 Consider it appreciated. Makes me think of the Matrix. Good point! BTW, this play takes about an hour to read, if anyone is curious about it. It's pretty interesting. At least one other book I have (by a Christian, even) compares this play's portrayal of the unjust suffering of Prometheus on the rock to satisfy the vengeance of Zeus to the unjust suffering of Jesus on the cross to satisfy the vengeance of Yahweh. Both for the benefit of humanity, out of love for them. Pretty interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hungrydingo Posted November 11, 2009 Share Posted November 11, 2009 I will definitely check that one out. Another great read, and one of my favorites, is John Milton's Paradise Lost. It's long, it was written in the 16th century, but it's fantastic. It's full of great quotes, but it is by no means an easy read. It was made prose (if I'm using the word correctly...). It's about the story in the Book of Enoch about Satan and his "fallen angels" leading their rebellion in Heaven only to be cast down by god and his plot to tempt Adam. It's main point is to illustrate the cruel and excessive punishments given by god. John Milton himself was a deist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Franko47 Posted November 13, 2009 Share Posted November 13, 2009 Consider it appreciated. Makes me think of the Matrix. Good point! BTW, this play takes about an hour to read, if anyone is curious about it. It's pretty interesting. At least one other book I have (by a Christian, even) compares this play's portrayal of the unjust suffering of Prometheus on the rock to satisfy the vengeance of Zeus to the unjust suffering of Jesus on the cross to satisfy the vengeance of Yahweh. Both for the benefit of humanity, out of love for them. Pretty interesting. Prometheus committed the "sin" of stealing Fire from the Gods and giving it to Men. There are many metaphorical comparisons made to this, but one can at least settle upon "empowerment". Something that mighty Zeus did not want from the lowly humans. Fresh off mating with yet another human woman (I forget which one, hey some of this starting to sound familiar? Zeus realized that in a short matter of time, the humans had come a long way, including building large metallic chariots that even threatened the might of the Gods (where have I heard that before?) and so sought to punish Prometheus by chaining him (spread-eagled) to the side of the Caucasus Mountains, near Colchis, where the famous Golden Fleece was kept. Crucified, in fact. An eagle would gnaw by day at the side of Prometheus (right where the famed spear is stuck in the side of Jesus, where the liver is) and the blood would fall down the mountainside, composed of the substance of the Titans. This blood would have magical powers and would be used by Medea to help Jason later on retrieve the Golden Fleece (love this stuff) and eventually during this saga as mentioned in the "ARGONAUTICA" Heracles (Hercules) would be eventually permitted to slay the liver-eating eagle by arrow, and free the mighty Prometheus from his permanent crucifixion and exile. What becomes of Pro after this isn't clear, but it's marvelous stuff, and the paradigms are unmistakeable and either predate or coincide with the elements of the Old Testament nicely. There are various versions of this story, so some Greek mythical scholars might take issue with my summary here, but I think it's fairly sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MultifariousBirdLady Posted November 13, 2009 Author Share Posted November 13, 2009 and so sought to punish Prometheus by chaining him (spread-eagled) to the side of the Caucasus Mountains, near Colchis, where the famous Golden Fleece was kept. Crucified, in fact. Yes indeed. The description in the play says he is "chained and nailed" to the rock, BTW... each arm separately, but the legs apparently together ("hoop his legs in strongly" is their only mention), and also there is mention of something over (or through?!) his chest: MightDrive the obstinate jaw of the adamantine wedge right through his breast: drive it hard. Hephaestus Alas, Prometheus, I groan for your sufferings. ... Might I see this rascal getting his deserts. Throw the girth around his sides What's above is the translation by David Grene. The version here translates the first line above this way: "Now take thine iron spike and drive it in, / Until it gnaw clean through the rebel's breast." More modern images often show him being chained flat to the top of a rock, though the images from ancient times generally show him bound upright, sometimes to a pole. (One, two, three, four.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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