Editing Prometheus (section)

==Late Roman antiquity==
The three most prominent aspects of the Prometheus myth have parallels within the beliefs of many cultures.{{sfnp|Raggio|1958|p=48}} "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 [[Christianity|Christian]] teaching of the unique and simultaneous act of creation by the [[Trinity]]." This Neoplatonism of late Roman antiquity was especially stressed by Tertullian<ref>Tertullian. ''Apologeticum'' XVIII, 3.</ref> 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 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 a sarcophagus of the Church at Mas d'Aire<ref>Wilpert, J. (1932), I Sarcofagi Christiani, II, p. 226.</ref> as well, and in an even more direct comparison to what Raggio refers to as "a coarsely carved relief from Campli ([[Teramo]])<ref>Wilpert, I, pl CVI, 2.</ref> (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 the imposition of his two fingers on her eyes recalling the same gesture found in earlier representations of Prometheus.{{sfnp|Raggio|1958|p=48}}

In [[Georgia (country)|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 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.<ref>Furtwangler, ''Die Antiken Gemmen'', 1910, I, pl. V, no. 37.</ref> This same image would also be used later in the Rome of the [[Augustan literature (ancient Rome)|Augustan age]] as documented by [[Adolf Furtwangler|Furtwangler]].<ref>Furtwangler, ''op. cit.'', pl. XXXVII, nos. 40, 41, 45, 46.</ref>

In the often cited and highly publicised interview between [[Joseph Campbell]] and [[Bill Moyers]] on Public Television, the author of ''The Hero with a Thousand Faces'' presented his view on the comparison of Prometheus and [[Jesus Christ|Jesus]].<ref name="ReferenceA">Campbell, Joseph. ''The Hero with a Thousand Faces.''</ref> 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 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 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.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

It remains a continuing debate among scholars of comparative religion and the literary reception<ref>Dostoevski, Fyodor. ''The Brothers Karamazov'', chapter on "The Grand Inquisitor".</ref> 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 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 the culminating narratives corresponding to [[Easter Sunday]]. The symbolic import for comparative religion would maintain that suffering related to justified conduct is redeemed in both the Hebrew scriptures and the New Testament narratives, while in Prometheus there remains the image of a non-forgiving deity, Zeus, who nonetheless requires reverence.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

Writing in [[late antiquity]] of the fourth and fifth century, the Latin commentator Marcus [[Maurus Servius Honoratus|Servius]] Honoratus explained that Prometheus was so named because he was a man of great foresight ''(vir prudentissimus)'', possessing the abstract quality of ''[[providentia]]'', the Latin equivalent of Greek ''promētheia'' ({{lang|grc|ἀπὸ τής πρόμηθείας}}).<ref>[[Maurus Servius Honoratus|Servius]], note to [[Vergil]]'s ''[[Eclogue]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Serv.+Ecl.+6.42&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2007.01.0091 6.42] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170307140036/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Serv.+Ecl.+6.42&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2007.01.0091 |date=2017-03-07 }}: ''Prometheus vir prudentissimus fuit, unde etiam Prometheus dictus est'' {{lang|grc|ἀπὸ τής πρόμηθείας}}'', id est a providentia''.</ref> Anecdotally, the Roman [[fabulist]] [[Phaedrus (fabulist)|Phaedrus]] (c. 15 BC – c. 50 AD) attributes to [[Aesop]] a simple [[etiology]] for [[homosexuality]], in Prometheus' getting drunk while creating the first humans and misapplying the genitalia.<ref name="Dionysos">{{cite web |url=http://www.theoi.com/Olympios/DionysosMyths2.html#Fable |title=Dionysos |publisher=Theoi.com |access-date=2012-05-18 |archive-date=2012-07-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120708140120/http://www.theoi.com/Olympios/DionysosMyths2.html#Fable |url-status=live }}</ref>