Are we reading too much into this?

In this module I have been looking at the myth of Prometheus from a number of different angles. I have seen arguments for this myth revealing themes from a representation of gender differences in Greece to the inner recesses of the human mind but in amongst these theories and idea that stemming from this myth I feel that we might be missing some of the more basic and key points of the myth. Ideas taken from myths can make sense in a new light but some are incredibly far-fetched. Ideas like the section of the Prometheus myth where his liver regenerates over night being an example of the Ancient Greek’s knowledge of the liver’s capability for self repair I find hard to believe. Academics from every conceivable background study myths to try and understand something from them that is relevant to their subject and of course some succeed in finding a deeper meaning in the text but still it feel like they are missing something. So while this blog might seem a little simplistic I feel that it is important to remember some of the key ideas that we can learn from this myth.

I will start with Sigmund Freud on Prometheus. For me Freud’s theories are like creation myths; you can see where he was going with it but it seems to make no sense today. Freud’s psychoanalytical approach to Prometheus is not one of his best theories and I am not convinced by it. He sees Prometheus as ignoring the subconscious human desire to not have fire at all as a reflection human resentment at having to work and not satisfying our untiring sexual desires; For me Freud’s take is like post-modernist historians; picking holes in things that didn’t need to be picked at. But while he looks at this myth through the eyes of the human subconscious rejecting the hard work of life I think this is a very negative view. Ok life is difficult and it isn’t always easy and happy but I read this myth as if it giving explanation for this but reminding you of fundamental aspects of life that cannot be ignored.

In Hesiod’s account in Theogony we are introduced to the idea of Zeus punishing Prometheus, we don’t have a reason why but we have the punishment. We learn that it was because of Prometheus challenging Zeus’ wit and trying to make a fool of him in front of the men and gods. The rest of the myth unfolds because of this trick, all of the evils that happen to men to make the world more like we have now stem from Prometheus tricking Zeus and Zeus punishing him and mankind. Now in my mind this is a reason for not questioning your elders and respecting their judgement and authority. When a teenager begins to confront their parents most parents will have a stab at responding logically and if all else fails they will say “because I am your mother and I am telling you so”. This is establishing that parents know more and therefore should be obeyed. If in Ancient Greece a further example was needed that questioning your elders was not a good idea then a parents saying “well look what happened when Prometheus challenged Zeus...” would convey the desired message. Similarly when Peisistratus began to use Heracles as his mythical parallel he would have rejected Prometheus as an idea because using a titan who rebelled against Zeus could inspire others to question his authority. This idea of obedience seems more prevalent to me.

Prometheus is not the only myth that Freud studied and in my mind distorted leaving its other meanings clouded. When Freud looked at Sophocles' version of Oedipus Rex he looked two main themes the process and the content of the narrative. In the process he saw Oedipus as a seeker of self-knowledge similar to a psychoanalyst trying to discover the workings of the mind. In the content he saw two meanings firstly; he proposed that the myth was a memory from humanity’s infancy of a real parricide and incest. This idea I have addressed in my previous blog and I find it completely unrealistic. The other theory Freud had has become one of the most famous psychoanalytical theories known. He began to relate Oedipus to his own life and wrote “I have found love of the mother and jealously of the father in my own case too, and now believe it to be a general phenomenon of early childhood”. The problem with Freud is he moves from his own experiences and transfers them on to all men (it is interesting that he doesn’t relate to women in either of these theories, in my mind further evidence of his transfer of his experiences into his theories). He said that Oedipus’ self-blinding was due to humanity’s desire to “live in ignorance of these wishes" of parricide and incest. Now I am not a man so maybe I do not have these desires but I think it may be that we are “ignorant” because these desires only exist in a minority of people of which Freud was part of. Freud is trying to use the myth as a diagnostic tool to unravel the human psyche but also to legitimise his implausible ideas.

Freud tried to make sense of the mind and man’s actions using the myth as a case study. I feel he has lost some of the original meaning that Sophocles tried to convey and before studying this I certainly knew the Freud’s take on Oedipus better than Sophocles’. Instead of being an example of someone acting on male subconscious desires Sophocles’ Oedipus is a character with an exceptionally atrocious fate. Sophocles’ title is Oedipus Tyrannos. For Sophocles, an Athenian, the idea of a sole ruler was abhorrent to a democratic city and as a result Oedipus was example of the perils of a different political system. A meaning which when you bear in mind the idea that myths are born as representations of the contemporary society of the myth-writer this makes much more sense and it is a shame that Freud's theory is better known that this simpler meaning.

I agree with Helen Morales when she writes in “Classical Mythology” that Freud is re-writing the myths he studies and seeing as a lot of people know his meaning over Sophocles’ he appears to be pretty successful at it.

Bibliography

An argument for the ancient Greek’s knowing about liver regeneration is provided by Chen T and Chen P (1994). "The Myth of Prometheus and the Liver". Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine 87(12): 754-755. A counterargument is provided by Power C and Rasko J (2008). "Whither Prometheus' Liver? Greek Myth and the Science of Regeneration". Annals of Internal Medicine 149(6): 421-426.

Helen Morales

Classical Mythology: A Very Short Introduction

Oxford, OUP, 2007

Hesiod

Theogony, Works and Days trans. M.L. West

Oxford, OUP, 1999