Was Prometheus chained to a Rock or to a Mountain?

by Elsewhere 10 Replies latest jw friends

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  Elsewhere

  Prometheus was punished by Zeus after he gave humans fire and taught them the basics of civilization. Some say Prometheus was the savior of humanity and raised us above the beasts.

  Prometheus' punishment for helping humans was to be chained so that an eagle would fly down and eat his liver every day and then every night his liver would grow back. Prometheus is immortal and cannot die, so he suffered like this for hundreds of years before he was released by Heracles.

  Depending on who you talk to Prometheus was chained to a mountain or a boulder… and this is the controversy that has many people divided.

  I think it is vital that this controversy be resolved so people can properly recognize Prometheus' sacrifice.
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  james_woods

  It takes a much larger chain to chain a Greek demi-god to a mountain than it does to chain him to a rock.

  The ancients may not have had much chain.

  I suggest that we file this along with the debate over whether Jesus Christ actually owned his own clothes.
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  No Room For George

  I don't know anything about all of that, but one thing I do know is that I absolutely cannot wait until the movie this summer!!!!!
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  frankiespeakin

  Sounds like this could be a debate of meaning. Could Prometheus being in chains open the way for discussion on man's use of technology harmful of good?
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  botchtowersociety

  The way I learned it, he was chained to a mountain.

  But there are differing versions for most or all of the Greek myths.
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  james_woods

  I think we should also want to know if the mountain was a volcano, and if it was Xenu the alien who chained him to it.
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  Band on the Run

  Perhaps it was a rock on a mountain. The most famous image for me is at Rockefeller Center skating rink in NY. There are waves that could be mountains on him. He is not chained to a single ordinary rock. My memory is that it is a mountain. What other thing I was not allowed to do as a Witness. When I finally went in college, it was no big deal anymore. My father thought it was fun to stand in the color for hours, watching other kids have great fun.
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  00DAD

  I'm with BOTR, it was a rock on a mountain.

  BTW, you DO know that these are just myths? Right?
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  ziddina

  I always thought that he was chained to the top of a sea-side cliff....

  Which would make sense for a Grecian myth....

  Being so encircled by the ocean, they surely must have seen sea eagles picking off fish, or devouring the remains on the fishing boats or on shore where the fishermen worked...

  In fact, there still are sea eagles on the Mediterranean - on the island of Corsica, in the Bay of Calvi....

  http://catacalvi.free.fr/pageprincipale_en.html

  But, according to Wikipedia, he's chained to a rock in the Caucasus mountains...

  [Why the Caucasus mountains???? ]
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  ziddina

  Hmmm....

  This is a very interesting aspect of the "Prometheus" myth, too....

  "Prometheus played a trick against Zeus (545-557). 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 a pleasing exterior). Zeus chose the latter, setting a precedent for future sacrifices; henceforth, humans would keep the meat for themselves and burn the bones wrapped in fat as an offering to the gods. ..."

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prometheus

  Here again we have that "burnt offering" motif...

  Veeeeeeeery iiiiiinteresting....