Prometheus

[ pruh-mee-thee-uhs, -thyoos ]

noun

, Classical Mythology.

1. a Titan, the father of Deucalion and brother of Atlas and Epimetheus, who taught humankind various arts and was sometimes said to have shaped humans out of clay and endowed them with the spark of life. For having stolen fire from Olympus and given it to humankind in defiance of Zeus, he was chained to a rock where an eagle daily tore at his liver, until he was finally released by Hercules.

Prometheus

/ prəˈmiːθɪəs /

noun

1. Greek myth a Titan, who stole fire from Olympus to give to mankind and in punishment was chained to a rock, where an eagle tore at his liver until Hercules freed him

Prometheus

1. In classical mythology , the Titan who stole fire from the gods and gave it to humans. As punishment for the theft, Zeus ordered Prometheus chained to a rock and sent a great eagle to gnaw at the Titan's liver . Despite his torment, Prometheus refused to submit to Zeus' will. He was eventually rescued by Hercules .

Notes

Prometheus has become a symbol of lonely and valiant resistance to authority. Aeschylus wrote a play, Prometheus Bound , and Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote a long poem entitled “Prometheus Unbound.”

Example Sentences

It was the state of the park and the Prometheus statue that struck Mero and her creative partner, known as Wild Life, Mero wrote on Instagram.

From Los Angeles Times

Zeus, who imagines Prometheus is somehow still his friend — “my only friend” — looks to him for company and comfort.

From Los Angeles Times

On one shelf is “American Prometheus,” the Pulitzer Prize-winning biography of Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the atomic bomb.

From New York Times

An initial idea to do the relay flame in hollow plant stalks — a nod to the Greek myth of Prometheus who stole fire from the gods — was ditched as impractical.

From Seattle Times

The San Francisco Symphony happened to be experimenting with scents in the concert hall for Scriabin’s “Prometheus, The Poem of Fire,” a 20-minute symphony that includes solo piano.

From Los Angeles Times