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99-451: Manfred: A dramatic poem is a closet drama written in 1816–1817 by Lord Byron . It contains supernatural elements, in keeping with the popularity of the ghost story in England at the time. It is a typical example of Gothic fiction . Byron commenced this work in late 1816, a few months after the famous ghost-story sessions with Percy Bysshe Shelley and Mary Shelley that provided

198-547: A fennel stalk and restored it to humanity ( 565–566 ). This further enraged Zeus, who sent the first woman to live with humanity ( Pandora , not explicitly mentioned). The woman, a "shy maiden", was fashioned by Hephaestus out of clay and Athena helped to adorn her properly ( 571–574 ). Hesiod writes, "From her is the race of women and female kind: of her is the deadly race and tribe of women who live amongst mortal men to their great trouble, no helpmeets in hateful poverty, but only in wealth" ( 590–594 ). For his crimes, Prometheus

297-469: A "substitute" for playgoing. Thus, playwrights were moved to take on "propagandist aims" against parliament and topics beyond the theatre in their writing, meaning reading such work could be considered a revolutionary act. However, playwrights could write in relative security, protected by the anonymous means of print. Thomas Killigrew is an example of a stage playwright who turned to closet drama when his plays could no longer be produced during this period; he

396-520: A Gothic exterior the tender heart of the Hero of Sensibility; but as a rebel, like Satan , Cain , and Prometheus , he embodies Romantic self-assertion. Manfred was not originally intended for stage performance; it was written to be a dramatic poem or, as Byron called it, a "metaphysical" drama. It has received much more attention on stage for its musical treatments by Tchaikovsky and Schumann than it has on its own dramatic terms. Nevertheless, Manfred

495-574: A Greek gem roughly dated to the time of the Hesiod poems, which show Prometheus with hands bound behind his body and crouching before a bird with long wings. This same image would also be used later in the Rome of the Augustan age as documented by Furtwangler . In the often cited and highly publicised interview between Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers on Public Television, the author of The Hero with

594-458: A Thousand Faces presented his view on the comparison of Prometheus and Jesus . Moyers asked Campbell the question in the following words, "In this sense, unlike heroes such as Prometheus or Jesus, we're not going on our journey to save the world but to save ourselves." To which Campbell's well-known response was that, "But in doing that, you save the world. The influence of a vital person vitalizes, there's no doubt about it. The world without spirit

693-635: A continuing debate among scholars of comparative religion and the literary reception of mythological and religious subject matter as to whether the typology of suffering and torment represented in the Prometheus myth finds its more representative comparisons with the narratives of the Hebrew scriptures or with the New Testament narratives. In the Book of Job , significant comparisons can be drawn between

792-549: A critic to construct an Aeschylean theology would be as quixotic as designing a typology of Aeschylean man. The needs of the drama prevail." In a rare comparison of Prometheus in Aeschylus with Oedipus in Sophocles, Harold Bloom states that "Freud called Oedipus an 'immoral play,' since the gods ordained incest and parricide. Oedipus therefore participates in our universal unconscious sense of guilt, but on this reading so do

891-423: A cruciform manner, possibly reflecting an Aeschylus-inspired manner of influence, again with an eagle and with Heracles approaching from the side. Some two dozen other Greek and Roman authors retold and further embellished the Prometheus myth from as early as the 5th century BC ( Diodorus , Herodorus ) into the 4th century AD. The most significant detail added to the myth found in, e.g., Sappho , Aesop and Ovid

990-436: A day to supply you for a full year even without working; soon would you put away your rudder over the smoke, and the fields worked by ox and sturdy mule would run to waste" ( 44–47 ). Hesiod also adds more information to Theogony ' s story of the first woman, a maiden crafted from earth and water by Hephaestus now explicitly called Pandora (" all gifts ") ( 82 ). Zeus in this case gets the help of Athena, Aphrodite, Hermes,

1089-471: A dramatist revisiting the myth of Prometheus in the age of Athenian prominence has been discussed by William Lynch. Lynch's general thesis concerns the rise of humanist and secular tendencies in Athenian culture and society which required the growth and expansion of the mythological and religious tradition as acquired from the most ancient sources of the myth stemming from Hesiod. For Lynch, modern scholarship

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1188-454: A few other religious sites in Greece devoted to Prometheus. Both Argos and Opous claimed to be Prometheus' final resting place, each erecting a tomb in his honour. The Greek city of Panopeus had a cult statue that was supposed to honour Prometheus for having created the human race there. Prometheus' torment by the eagle and his rescue by Heracles were popular subjects in vase paintings of

1287-476: A key role in bringing Zeus to power, he also attributed to him secret knowledge that could lead to Zeus's downfall: Prometheus had been told by his mother Themis , who in the play is identified with Gaia (Earth), of a potential marriage that would produce a son who would overthrow Zeus. Fragmentary evidence indicates that Heracles, as in Hesiod, frees the Titan in the trilogy's second play, Prometheus Unbound . It

1386-661: A longer poetic form, without the connection to practical theater and performance. In the early modern period, women writers who were unable to "use their voice" in public were able to emphasize their opinions using the form of closet drama. This outlet for communication provided a woman the ability to "engage in political discourse without exposing her views to an indiscriminate public," since she could choose to restrict her readership. However, women's writing could be influenced by societal pressures and occurrences. Margaret Lucas Cavendish , author of fourteen folio volumes, explored writing closet dramas during her exile and became one of

1485-535: A lowly challenger to Zeus 's omniscience and omnipotence. In the trick at Mecone ( 535–544 ), a sacrificial meal marking the "settling of accounts" between mortals and immortals, Prometheus played a trick against Zeus. He placed two sacrificial offerings before the Olympian: a selection of beef hidden inside an ox's stomach (nourishment hidden inside a displeasing exterior), and the bull's bones wrapped completely in "glistening fat" (something inedible hidden inside

1584-438: A mode of dramatic writing for those without access to the commercial playhouse, and in this context has become closely associated with early modern women's writing. Closet dramas were published in manuscript form, including dramatis personae and elaborate stage directions, allowing readers to imagine the text as if it were being performed. This created an "unusually tight fusion between book and reader as it endeavours to stimulate

1683-553: A mountainside – though the rest of his career is dissimilar to that of Prometheus. The three most prominent aspects of the Prometheus myth have parallels within the beliefs of many cultures. "The Prometheus myth of creation as a visual symbol of the Neoplatonic concept of human nature, illustrated in (many) sarcophagi , was evidently a contradiction of the Christian teaching of the unique and simultaneous act of creation by

1782-416: A pleasing exterior). Zeus chose the latter, setting a precedent for future sacrifices ( 556–557 ). Henceforth, humans would keep that meat for themselves and burn the bones wrapped in fat as an offering to the gods. This angered Zeus, who hid fire from humans in retribution. In this version of the myth, the use of fire was already known to humans, but withdrawn by Zeus. Prometheus stole fire back from Zeus in

1881-430: A rock, and each of them received punishment for the gift which they bestowed to humankind, for Jesus this was the gift of propitiation from Heaven, and, for Prometheus this was the gift of fire from Olympus. Significantly, Campbell is also clear to indicate the limits of applying the metaphors of his methodology in his book The Hero with a Thousand Faces too closely in assessing the comparison of Prometheus and Jesus. Of

1980-568: A sarcophagus of the Church at Mas d'Aire as well, and in an even more direct comparison to what Raggio refers to as "a coarsely carved relief from Campli ( Teramo ) (where) the Lord sits on a throne and models the body of Adam, exactly like Prometheus". Still another such similarity is found in the example found on a Hellenistic relief presently in the Louvre in which the Lord gives life to Eve through

2079-658: A son greater than the father – Achilles , Greek hero of the Trojan War . Pseudo-Apollodorus moreover clarifies a cryptic statement (1026–29) made by Hermes in Prometheus Bound , identifying the centaur Chiron as the one who would take on Prometheus' suffering and die in his place. Reflecting a myth attested in Greek vase paintings from the Classical period, Pseudo-Apollodorus places the Titan (armed with an axe) at

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2178-456: A super-human being to compose a piano score in 1872 based on it, "Manfred Meditation". Byron wrote this "metaphysical drama", as he called it, after his marriage to Annabella Millbanke failed because of a scandal due to charges of sexual improprieties and an incestuous affair between Byron and his half-sister, Augusta Leigh . Attacked by the press and ostracised by London society, Byron fled England for Switzerland in 1816 and never returned. At

2277-452: Is a play created primarily for reading, rather than production. Closet dramas are traditionally defined in narrower terms as belonging to a genre of dramatic writing unconcerned with stage technique. Stageability is only one aspect of closet drama: historically, playwrights might choose the genre of 'closet' dramatic writing to avoid censorship of their works, for example in the case of political tragedies. Closet drama has also been used as

2376-458: Is a wasteland. People have the notion of saving the world by shifting things around, changing the rules [...] No, no! Any world is a valid world if it's alive. The thing to do is to bring life to it, and the only way to do that is to find in your own case where the life is and become alive yourself." For Campbell, Jesus suffered mortally on the Cross while Prometheus suffered eternally while chained to

2475-464: Is also generally seen as the author of the human arts and sciences. He is sometimes presented as the father of Deucalion , the hero of the flood story . The punishment of Prometheus for stealing fire from Olympus and giving it to humans is a subject of both ancient and modern culture . Zeus , king of the Olympian gods , condemned Prometheus to eternal torment for his transgression. Prometheus

2574-575: Is apparently not until Prometheus reveals this secret of Zeus's potential downfall that the two reconcile in the final play, Prometheus the Fire-Bringer or Prometheus Pyrphoros , a lost tragedy by Aeschylus. Prometheus Bound also includes two mythic innovations of omission. The first is the absence of Pandora 's story in connection with Prometheus' own. Instead, Aeschylus includes this one oblique allusion to Pandora and her jar that contained Hope (252): "[Prometheus] caused blind hopes to live in

2673-630: Is hampered by not having the full trilogy of Prometheus by Aeschylus, the last two parts of which have been lost to antiquity. Significantly, Lynch further comments that although the Prometheus trilogy is not available, the Orestia trilogy by Aeschylus remains available and may be assumed to provide significant insight into the overall structural intentions which may be ascribed to the Prometheus trilogy by Aeschylus as an author of significant consistency and exemplary dramatic erudition. Harold Bloom , in his research guide for Aeschylus, has summarised some of

2772-507: Is not intended for commercial performance can nevertheless cross between private playreading and the public sphere" through this medium. The philosophical dialogues of ancient Greek and Roman writers such as Plato (see Socratic dialogue ) were written in the form of conversations between "characters" and are in this respect similar to closet drama, many of which feature little action but are often rich in philosophical rhetoric. Beginning with Friedrich von Schlegel , many have argued that

2871-516: Is one of the Titans and a god of fire . Prometheus is best known for defying the Olympian gods by taking fire from them and giving it to humanity in the form of technology, knowledge and, more generally, civilization . In some versions of the myth , he is also credited with the creation of humanity from clay . Prometheus is known for his intelligence and for being a champion of mankind and

2970-405: Is presented as superior to merely natural instincts ( physis ). For Plato, only the virtues of "reverence and justice can provide for the maintenance of a civilised society – and these virtues are the highest gift finally bestowed on men in equal measure". The ancients by way of Plato believed that the name Prometheus derived from the Greek prefix pro - (before) + manthano (intelligence) and

3069-478: Is quoted on page 351 of The Masters of Solitude by Marvin Kaye and Parke Godwin . "In Memory of My Feelings", the poem by Frank O'Hara , includes the line "Manfred climbs to my nape,/ speaks, but I do not hear him,/ I'm too blue." In Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke , Byron is said to have written Manfred after meeting the magician Jonathan Strange and finding him most disagreeable. It

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3168-541: Is referenced in Colonel Calverley's patter song "If you want a receipt for that popular mystery" (A Heavy Dragoon), listing one ingredient as "a little of Manfred but not very much of him". German gothic metal band The Vision Bleak extensively quote from Manfred in their song "A Curse of the Grandest Kind", on their 2010 album Set Sail to Mystery Big Finish 's Dark Shadows references

3267-459: Is seen living on Mount Olympus after the end of his long torture, apparently having reconciled with the other gods. He is presented not as the dauntless rebel who questioned Zeus, but rather as a timid god who goes to negotiate with the titular Birds disguised, so that Zeus will not notice him talking to the enemy. Zahhak , an evil figure in Iranian mythology , also ends up eternally chained on

3366-538: Is suggested that he wrote it because he was so disappointed with Strange that he created a magician more to his liking. The final scene of Daisy Miller by Henry James is set in the Colosseum of Rome. James mentions that, before entering the Colosseum, his protagonist Winterbourne loudly quotes Manfred's monologue on the Colosseum (Act III, Scene IV). In the Gilbert and Sullivan comic opera Patience , Manfred

3465-581: Is that Hephaestus split Zeus's head to allow Athena's birth, that story has also been told of Prometheus. A variant tradition makes Prometheus the son of Hera like Hephaestus. According to that version, the Giant Eurymedon raped Hera when she was young, and she had Prometheus. After Zeus married Hera, he threw Eurymedon into Tartarus and punished Prometheus in Caucasus, using the theft of fire as an excuse. Ancient artists depict Prometheus wearing

3564-467: Is the key to his religious significance and to the alignment with Athena and Hephaestus that was specific to Athens and its "unique degree of cultic emphasis" on honouring technology . The festival of Prometheus was the Prometheia (τὰ Προμήθεια). The wreaths worn symbolised the chains of Prometheus. There is a pattern of resemblances between Hephaestus and Prometheus. Although the classical tradition

3663-502: The Protagoras as an important contributor to the early development of the Prometheus myth. Raggio indicates that many of the more challenging and dramatic assertions which Aeschylean tragedy explores are absent from Plato's writings about Prometheus. As summarised by Raggio, After the gods have moulded men and other living creatures with a mixture of clay and fire, the two brothers Epimetheus and Prometheus are called to complete

3762-584: The Archaic and Classical periods seems to have been limited. Writing in the 2nd century AD, the satirist Lucian points out that while temples for the major Olympians were everywhere, none for Prometheus is to be seen. Athens was the exception; here Prometheus was worshipped alongside Athena and Hephaestus . The altar of Prometheus in the grove of the Academy was the point of origin for several significant processions and other events regularly observed on

3861-585: The Athenian calendar . For the Panathenaic festival , arguably the most important civic festival at Athens, a torch race began at the altar, which was located outside the sacred boundary of the city, and passed through the Kerameikos , the district inhabited by potters and other artisans who regarded Prometheus and Hephaestus as patrons. The race then travelled to the heart of the city, where it kindled

3960-520: The Graces and the Hours ( 59–76 ). After Prometheus steals the fire, Zeus sends Pandora in retaliation. Despite Prometheus' warning, Epimetheus accepts this "gift" from the gods ( 89 ). Pandora carried a jar with her from which were released mischief and sorrow, plague and diseases ( 94–100 ). Pandora shuts the lid of the jar too late to contain all the evil plights that escaped, but Hope is left trapped in

4059-580: The Titanomachy , securing victory for Zeus and the other Olympians. Zeus' torture of Prometheus thus becomes a particularly harsh betrayal. The scope and character of Prometheus' transgressions against Zeus are also widened. In addition to giving humanity fire, Prometheus claims to have taught them the arts of civilisation, such as writing, mathematics, agriculture, medicine, and science. The Titan's greatest benefaction for humanity seems to have been saving them from complete destruction. In an apparent twist on

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4158-487: The Trinity ." This Neoplatonism of late Roman antiquity was especially stressed by Tertullian who recognised both difference and similarity of the biblical deity with the mythological figure of Prometheus. The imagery of Prometheus and the creation of man used for the purposes of the representation of the creation of Adam in biblical symbolism is also a recurrent theme in the artistic expression of late Roman antiquity. Of

4257-427: The agent suffix - eus , thus meaning "Forethinker". In his dialogue titled Protagoras , Plato contrasts Prometheus with his dull-witted brother Epimetheus , "Afterthinker". In Plato's dialogue Protagoras , Protagoras asserts that the gods created humans and all the other animals, but it was left to Prometheus and his brother Epimetheus to give defining attributes to each. As no physical traits were left when

4356-562: The titans in general, and like other titans, was punished for his opposition. As an advocate for humanity he gains semi-divine status at Athens, where the episode in Theogony in which he is liberated is interpreted by Casanova as a post-Hesiodic interpolation. According to the German classicist Karl-Martin Dietz , in Hesiod's scriptures, Prometheus represents the "descent of mankind from

4455-484: The tragedies of Seneca the Younger in the first century AD were written to be recited at small parties rather than performed. Although that theory has become widely pervasive in the history of theater, there is no evidence to support the contention that Seneca's plays were intended to be read or recited at small gatherings of the wealthy. The emperor Nero , a pupil of Seneca, may have performed in some of them. Some of

4554-580: The 19th century and is still supported by some. The first recorded account of the Prometheus myth appeared in the late 8th-century BC Greek epic poet Hesiod 's Theogony ( 507–616 ). In that account, Prometheus was a son of the Titan Iapetus by Clymene or Asia , one of the Oceanids . He was brother to Menoetius , Atlas , and Epimetheus . Hesiod, in Theogony , introduces Prometheus as

4653-478: The 6th to 4th centuries BC. He also sometimes appears in depictions of Athena's birth from Zeus' forehead. There was a relief sculpture of Prometheus with Pandora on the base of Athena's cult statue in the Athenian Parthenon of the 5th century BC. A similar rendering is also found at the great altar of Zeus at Pergamon from the second century BC. The event of the release of Prometheus from captivity

4752-496: The Count declares: "No, no, I wish to do away with that mysterious reputation that you have given me, my dear viscount; it is tiresome to be always acting Manfred. I wish my life to be free and open." Indeed, the Count of Monte Cristo is quite similar to Manfred, in that he wants to keep his past a secret, feels superior to social conventions, and is following an agenda that runs counter to the social mores. Fyodor Dostoyevsky mentions

4851-461: The New Testament narratives and the Greek mythological narratives remains at the limiting level of the cataclysmic eternal struggle of the eschatological New Testament narratives occurring only at the very end of the biblical narratives in the Apocalypse of John (12:7) where, "Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. The dragon and his angels fought back, but they were defeated, and there

4950-729: The Titanomachy epic and the account of events in Hesiod; and that the Titanomachy may be the source of later variants of the Prometheus myth not found in Hesiod, notably the non-Hesiodic material found in the Prometheus Bound of Aeschylus . The two major authors to have an influence on the development of the myths and legends surrounding the Titan Prometheus during the Socratic era of greater Athens were Aeschylus and Plato . The two men wrote in highly distinctive forms of expression which for Aeschylus centered on his mastery of

5049-521: The best known women playwrights due to her interest in philosophical nature. Although living in relative oppression, women dealt with the risks of public shame and rejection in the effort to have their writing recognized. Other notable women involved in a closet drama include Anne Finch , Jane Lumley , and Elizabeth Cary . Prometheus In Greek mythology , Prometheus ( / p r ə ˈ m iː θ i ə s / ; Ancient Greek : Προμηθεύς , [promɛːtʰéu̯s] , possibly meaning " forethought ")

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5148-669: The birth of Athena , thus explaining how the goddess sprang forth from the forehead of Zeus. Other minor details attached to the myth include: the duration of Prometheus' torment; the origin of the eagle that ate the Titan's liver (found in Pseudo-Apollodorus and Hyginus); Pandora's marriage to Epimetheus (found in Pseudo-Apollodorus); myths surrounding the life of Prometheus' son, Deucalion (found in Ovid and Apollonius of Rhodes ); and Prometheus' marginal role in

5247-647: The closet drama. The popularity of closet drama at this time was both a sign of, and a reaction to, the decline of the verse tragedy on the European stage in the 1800s. Popular tastes in theater were shifting toward melodrama and comedy and there was little commercial appeal in staging verse tragedies (though Coleridge , Robert Browning , and others wrote verse dramas that were staged in commercial theaters). Playwrights who wanted to write verse tragedy had to resign themselves to writing for readers, rather than actors and audiences. Nineteenth-century closet drama became

5346-466: The communion with the gods into the present troublesome life". The Titanomachy is a lost epic of the cosmological struggle between the Greek gods and their parents, the Titans, and, in addition to the works of Hesiod , is a probable source of the Prometheus myth. Its reputed author was anciently supposed to have lived in the 8th century BC, but M. L. West has argued that it can't be earlier than

5445-725: The critical attention that has been applied to Aeschylus concerning his general philosophical import in Athens. As Bloom states, "Much critical attention has been paid to the question of theodicy in Aeschylus. For generations, scholars warred incessantly over 'the justice of Zeus,' unintentionally blurring it with a monotheism imported from Judeo-Christian thought. The playwright undoubtedly had religious concerns; for instance, Jacqueline de Romilly suggests that his treatment of time flows directly out of his belief in divine justice. But it would be an error to think of Aeschylus as sermonising. His Zeus does not arrive at decisions which he then enacts in

5544-539: The drama of the Middle Ages was of the closet-drama type, such as the drama of Hroswitha of Gandersheim and debate poems in quasi-dramatic form. Fulke Greville , Samuel Daniel , Elizabeth Cary , Sir William Alexander , and Mary Sidney wrote closet dramas in the age of Shakespeare and Jonson . Between 1642 and 1660, the English government banned public performance. During this time, playreading became

5643-479: The four symbols of suffering associated with Jesus after his trial in Jerusalem (i) the crown of thorns, (ii) the scourge of whips, (iii) the nailing to the Cross, and (iv) the spearing of his side, it is only this last one which bears some resemblance to the eternal suffering of Prometheus' daily torment of an eagle devouring a replenishing organ, his liver, from his side. For Campbell, the striking contrast between

5742-472: The gods" [...] "I sometimes wish that Freud had turned to Aeschylus instead, and given us the Prometheus complex rather than the Oedipus complex." Karl-Martin Dietz states that in contrast to Hesiod's, in Aeschylus' oeuvre, Prometheus stands for the "Ascent of humanity from primitive beginnings to the present level of civilisation." Olga Raggio , in her study "The Myth of Prometheus", attributes Plato in

5841-571: The hearts of men." Second, Aeschylus makes no mention of the sacrifice-trick played against Zeus in the Theogony . The four tragedies of Prometheus attributed to Aeschylus, most of which are lost to the passages of time into antiquity, are Prometheus Bound ( Prometheus Desmotes ), Prometheus Unbound ( Lyomenos ), Prometheus the Fire Bringer ( Pyrphoros ), and Prometheus the Fire Kindler ( Pyrkaeus ). The larger scope of Aeschylus as

5940-460: The imposition of his two fingers on her eyes recalling the same gesture found in earlier representations of Prometheus. In Georgian mythology, Amirani is a cultural hero who challenged the chief god and, like Prometheus, was chained on the Caucasian mountains where birds would eat his organs. This aspect of the myth had a significant influence on the Greek imagination. It is recognisable from

6039-471: The initial impetus for Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus . The supernatural references are made clear throughout the poem. Manfred was adapted musically by Robert Schumann in 1852, in a composition entitled Manfred: Dramatic Poem with Music in Three Parts , and in 1885 by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in his Manfred Symphony . Friedrich Nietzsche was inspired by the poem's depiction of

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6138-483: The jar because Zeus forces Pandora to seal it up before Hope can escape ( 96–99 ). Casanova (1979), finds in Prometheus a reflection of an ancient, pre-Hesiodic trickster -figure, who served to account for the mixture of good and bad in human life, and whose fashioning of humanity from clay was an Eastern motif familiar in Enuma Elish . As an opponent of Zeus, the titan Prometheus can be seen as characteristic of

6237-449: The late 7th century BC. Presumably included in the Titanomachy is the story of Prometheus, himself a Titan, who managed to avoid being in the direct confrontational cosmic battle between Zeus and the other Olympians against Cronus and the other Titans (although there is no direct evidence of Prometheus' inclusion in the epic). M. L. West notes that surviving references suggest that there may have been significant differences between

6336-452: The literary form of Greek tragedy, while for Plato this centered on the philosophical expression of his thought in the form of the various dialogues he wrote during his lifetime. Prometheus Bound , perhaps the most famous treatment of the myth to be found among the Greek tragedies , is traditionally attributed to the 5th-century BC Greek tragedian Aeschylus . At the centre of the drama are

6435-613: The mortal world; rather, human events are themselves an enactment of divine will." According to Thomas Rosenmeyer , regarding the religious import of Aeschylus, "In Aeschylus, as in Homer, the two levels of causation, the supernatural and the human, are co-existent and simultaneous, two ways of describing the same event." Rosenmeyer insists that ascribing portrayed characters in Aeschylus should not conclude them to be either victims or agents of theological or religious activity too quickly. As Rosenmeyer states: "[T]he text defines their being. For

6534-577: The myth of Jason and the Argonauts (found in Apollonius of Rhodes and Valerius Flaccus ). "Variants of legends containing the Prometheus motif are widespread in the Caucasus " region, reports Hunt, who gave ten stories related to Prometheus from ethno-linguistic groups in the region. Prometheus finally makes an appearance in Athenian playwright Aristophanes 's comedy The Birds , where he

6633-525: The myth of the so-called Five Ages of Man found in Hesiod's Works and Days (wherein Cronus and, later, Zeus created and destroyed five successive races of humanity), Prometheus asserts that Zeus had wanted to obliterate the human race, but that he somehow stopped him. Moreover, Aeschylus anachronistically and artificially injects Io , another victim of Zeus's violence and ancestor of Heracles, into Prometheus' story. Finally, just as Aeschylus gave Prometheus

6732-431: The pair came to humans, Prometheus decided to give them fire and other civilising arts. It is understandable that since Prometheus was considered a Titan (distinct from an Olympian) that there would be an absence of evidence, with the exception of Athens, for the direct religious devotion to his worship. Despite his importance to the myths and imaginative literature of ancient Greece, the religious cult of Prometheus during

6831-484: The poem in Notes from Underground when the narrator states, "I received countless millions and immediately gave them away for the benefit of humanity, at the same moment confessing before the crowd all my infamies, which, of course, were not mere infamies, but also contained within them a wealth of 'the lofty and the beautiful' of something Manfred-like" (Dostoyevsky, page 57. Bantam Books 2005) Herman Melville references

6930-686: The poem twice in Mardi (1849): in Chapter 4 describing being up in the foremast-head: "Now this standing upon a bit of stick 100 feet aloft for hours at a time, swiftly sailing over the sea, is very much like crossing the Channel in a balloon. Manfred-like, you talk to the clouds: you have a fellow feeling for the sun."; and in Chapter 11 wondering at a character's gravity: "It was inconceivable, that his reveries were Manfred-like and exalted, reminiscent of unutterable deeds, too mysterious even to be indicated by

7029-517: The pointed cap of an artist or artisan, like Hephaestus, and also the crafty hero Odysseus . The artisan's cap was also depicted as worn by the Cabeiri , supernatural craftsmen associated with a mystery cult known in Athens in classical times, and who were associated with both Hephaestus and Prometheus. Kerényi suggests that Hephaestus may in fact be the "successor" of Prometheus, despite Hephaestus being himself of archaic origin. Pausanias recorded

7128-816: The powerful spirits. Manfred directs his final words to the Abbot, remarking, "Old man! 'tis not so difficult to die". "The unconquerable individual to the end, Manfred gives his soul to neither heaven nor hell, only to death." Published in June 1817, Manfred has as its epigraph the famous saying from Shakespeare 's Hamlet : "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio , than are dreamt of in your philosophy." It seems to be strongly influenced by Goethe 's Faust , which Byron probably read in translation (although he claimed never to have read it). In September 1817, John Neal accused Byron of "egotism, contradiction, and affection" in authoring Manfred , claiming that "Byron

7227-523: The relatively rare expressions found of the creation of Adam in those centuries of late Roman antiquity, one can single out the so-called "Dogma sarcophagus" of the Lateran Museum where three figures (commonly taken to represent the theological trinity) are seen in making a benediction to the new man. Another example is found where the prototype of Prometheus is also recognisable in the early Christian era of late Roman antiquity. This can be found upon

7326-851: The remotest of hints." The whale-boat used to escape in the beginning is named "Chamois," referring explicitly to the goat-antelope creature, and likely also alluding to the hunter in Manfred. In Act II of Ivanov (play) by Anton Chekhov , Ivanov compares himself to Manfred, saying: “I could die of shame at the thought that I, a healthy, strong man, have turned into some sort of Hamlet, or Manfred, or superfluous man—God only knows what! (Chekhov 40)” (Chekhov, Anton. The Major Plays. 1964. Translated by Ann Dunnigan, Signet Classics, 2006.) On page 61 of The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon , Di Presso seems to refer (perhaps by accident) to Metzger as Manfred. Manfred's oft-quoted speech from Act II Scene 1 which begins "Think'st thou existence doth depend on time?"

7425-463: The results of Prometheus' theft of fire and his current punishment by Zeus . The playwright's dependence on the Hesiodic source material is clear, though Prometheus Bound also includes a number of changes to the received tradition. It has been suggested by M.L. West that these changes may derive from the now lost epic Titanomachy . Before his theft of fire, Prometheus played a decisive role in

7524-536: The sacrificial fire on the altar of Athena on the Acropolis to conclude the festival. These footraces took the form of relays in which teams of runners passed off a flaming torch. According to Pausanias (2nd century AD), the torch relay, called lampadedromia or lampadephoria , was first instituted at Athens in honour of Prometheus. By the Classical period, the races were run by ephebes also in honour of Hephaestus and Athena. Prometheus' association with fire

7623-573: The same name, while the name "Prometheus" is descriptive. It has also been theorised that it derives from the Proto-Indo-European root that also produces the Vedic pra math , "to steal", hence pramathyu-s , "thief", cognate with "Prometheus", the thief of fire. The Vedic myth of fire's theft by Mātariśvan is an analogue to the Greek account. Pramant was the fire-drill, the tool used to create fire. The suggestion that Prometheus

7722-500: The stage. Several closet dramas in verse were written in Europe after 1800; these plays were by and large inspired by classical models. Faust, Part 1 and Faust, Part 2 by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe , among the most acclaimed pieces in the history of German literature , were written as closet dramas, though both plays have been frequently staged. Lord Byron , Percy Bysshe Shelley , and Alexander Pushkin devoted much time to

7821-519: The struggle of Prometheus is located by some at Mount Elbrus or at Mount Kazbek , two volcanic promontories in the Caucasus Mountains beyond which for the ancient Greeks lay the realm of the barbari . In another myth, Prometheus establishes the form of animal sacrifice practiced in ancient Greek religion . Evidence of a cult to Prometheus himself is not widespread. He was a focus of religious activity mainly at Athens , where he

7920-518: The subtitle to her novel Frankenstein (1818). The etymology of the theonym prometheus is debated. The usual view is that it signifies "forethought", as that of his brother Epimetheus denotes "afterthought". Hesychius of Alexandria gives Prometheus the variant name of Ithas, and adds "whom others call Ithax", and describes him as the Herald of the Titans. Kerényi remarks that these names are "not transparent", and may be different readings of

8019-443: The sustained suffering of Job in comparison to that of eternal suffering and torment represented in the Prometheus myth. With Job, the suffering is at the acquiescence of heaven and at the will of the demonic, while in Prometheus the suffering is directly linked to Zeus as the ruler of Olympus. The comparison of the suffering of Jesus after his sentencing in Jerusalem is limited to the three days, from Thursday to Saturday, and leading to

8118-652: The tale in an audio production, Dress Me in Dark Dreams . Edith Collins seeks to re-read the poem after some lines are stuck in her head. Christopher Tin and Shoji Kameda (as " Stereo Alchemy Archived 19 February 2020 at the Wayback Machine ") used the text of Manfred as the basis for the lyrics to Monster of the Sky on their album God of Love Manfred Township, Minnesota is named after Manfred Closet drama A closet drama (or closet play)

8217-493: The task and distribute among the newly born creatures all sorts of natural qualities. Epimetheus sets to work but, being unwise, distributes all the gifts of nature among the animals, leaving men naked and unprotected, unable to defend themselves and to survive in a hostile world. Prometheus then steals the fire of creative power from the workshop of Athena and Hephaistos and gives it to mankind. Raggio then goes on to point out Plato's distinction of creative power ( techne ), which

8316-447: The theatrical imagination." The playwrights did not have to worry about the pressure to impress an audience due to their audience being whom they chose. Thus, it was considered to be a freeing style of writing. Marta Straznicky describes the form as "part of a larger cultural matrix in which closed spaces, selective interpretive communities, and political dissent are aligned." Print is the crucial factor behind closet dramas: "a play that

8415-584: The time, he was living at the Villa Diodati in Switzerland. Because Manfred was written immediately after this, and because it regards a main character tortured by his own sense of guilt for an unmentionable offence, some critics consider it to be autobiographical, or even confessional. The unnamed, but forbidden, nature of Manfred's relationship to Astarte is believed to represent Byron's relationship with his half-sister Augusta. Most of Manfred

8514-402: The various components of the corporeal world, are unable to control past events and thus cannot grant Manfred's plea. For some time, fate prevents him from escaping his guilt through suicide. At the end, Manfred dies, defying religious temptations of redemption from sin. Throughout the poem he succeeds in challenging all of the authoritative powers he faces, and chooses death over submitting to

8613-517: The world. Some other aspects of the story resemble the Sumerian myth of Enki (or Ea in later Babylonian mythology), who was also a bringer of civilization who protected humanity against the other gods, including during the great flood, as well as created man from clay. While the theory lost favour in the 20th century that Prometheus descends from the Vedic fire bringer Mātariśvan , it was suggested in

8712-483: Was a production on BBC Radio 3 in 1988, however, which starred Ronald Pickup as Manfred. A new production, adapted and directed by Pauline Harris with original music composed and performed by Olly Fox and starring Joseph Millson as Manfred, was broadcast on BBC Radio 3 on 8 January 2017 to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Manfred ' s completion. The character Manfred was mentioned by Alexandre Dumas, père in his novel The Count of Monte Cristo , where

8811-419: Was bound to a rock, and an eagle—the emblem of Zeus—was sent to eat his liver (in ancient Greece, the liver was thought to be the seat of human emotions). His liver would then grow back overnight, only to be eaten again the next day in an ongoing cycle. According to several major versions of the myth, most notably that of Hesiod , Prometheus was eventually freed by the hero Heracles . In yet more symbolism,

8910-520: Was frequently revisited on Attic and Etruscan vases between the sixth and fifth centuries BC. In the depiction on display at the Museum of Karlsruhe and in Berlin , the depiction is that of Prometheus confronted by a menacing large bird (assumed to be the eagle) with Heracles approaching from behind shooting his arrows at it. In the fourth century this imagery was modified to depicting Prometheus bound in

9009-543: Was in exile from England during the English Civil War . Following the Restoration in 1660, some authors, such as Margaret Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle-upon-Tyne , continued to favour closet drama, proving that the form "served a cultural function distinct from that of commercial drama." John Milton 's play Samson Agonistes , written in 1671, is an example of early modern drama never intended for

9108-483: Was in origin the human "inventor of the fire-sticks, from which fire is kindled" goes back to Diodorus Siculus in the first century BC. The reference is again to the "fire-drill", a worldwide primitive method of fire making using a vertical and a horizontal piece of wood to produce fire by friction. The oldest record of Prometheus is in Hesiod , but stories of theft of fire by a trickster figure are widespread around

9207-535: Was later famously played by Samuel Phelps . There are no recorded full stagings in Britain in the twentieth century, but readings are more popular, partly because of the difficulty of staging a play set in the Alps, partly because of the work's nature as a closet drama that was never actually intended for the stage in the first place. The exceptional size of the role of Manfred also makes the play difficult to cast. There

9306-637: Was linked to Athena and Hephaestus , who were the Greek deities of creative skills and technology. In the Western classical tradition , Prometheus became a figure who represented human striving (particularly the quest for scientific knowledge) and the risk of overreaching or unintended consequences . In particular, he was regarded in the Romantic era as embodying the lone genius whose efforts to improve human existence could also result in tragedy: Mary Shelley , for instance, gave The Modern Prometheus as

9405-405: Was made for crime, not vice." Aside from pointing out the poem's absurdities, Neal nevertheless offered high praise and claimed of one verse that "our language does not furnish a more delicate, beautiful, mellow, and quiet picture." Manfred has as its theme defiant humanism, represented by the hero’s refusal to bow to supernatural authority. Peter L. Thorslev Jr. notes that Manfred conceals behind

9504-470: Was no longer any place for them in heaven." This eschatological and apocalyptic setting of a Last Judgement is in precise contrast to the Titanomachia of Hesiod which serves its distinct service to Greek mythology as its Prolegomenon , bracketing all subsequent mythology, including the creation of humanity, as coming after the cosmological struggle between the Titans and the Olympian gods. It remains

9603-660: Was punished by Zeus, who bound him with chains and sent an eagle to eat Prometheus' immortal liver every day, which then grew back every night. Years later, the Greek hero Heracles , with Zeus' permission, killed the eagle and freed Prometheus from this torment ( 521–529 ). Hesiod revisits the story of Prometheus and the theft of fire in Works and Days ( 42–105 ). In it the poet expands upon Zeus's reaction to Prometheus' deception. Not only does Zeus withhold fire from humanity, but "the means of life" as well ( 42 ). Had Prometheus not provoked Zeus's wrath, "you would easily do work enough in

9702-535: Was the central role of Prometheus in the creation of the human race. According to these sources, Prometheus fashioned humans out of clay. Although perhaps made explicit in the Prometheia , later authors such as Hyginus , the Bibliotheca , and Quintus of Smyrna would confirm that Prometheus warned Zeus not to marry the sea nymph Thetis . She is consequently married off to the mortal Peleus , and bears him

9801-636: Was written on a tour through the Bernese Alps in September 1816. The third act was rewritten in February 1817, since Byron was not happy with its first version. Manfred is a Faustian noble living in the Bernese Alps . Internally tortured by some mysterious guilt, which has to do with the death of his most beloved, Astarte, he uses his mastery of language and spell-casting to summon seven spirits, from whom he seeks forgetfulness. The spirits, who rule

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