Greek Mythology in Art
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  • Artists
    • Jan Cossiers
    • Herbert James Draper
    • Jacob Jordaens
    • Peter Paul Rubens
    • Johann Heinrich Tischbein the Elder
    • Titian
    • John William Waterhouse
  • Museums
    • The National Gallery >
      • Artemis and Callisto (Titian)
      • Judgement of Paris (Rubens)
      • Leda and the Swan (After Michelangelo)
      • Death of Actaeon (Titian)
      • Pan and Syrinx (Boucher)
      • Diana and Callisto (Bril)
      • Bacchus and Ariadne (Titian)
    • Prado >
      • Meleager and Atalanta (Jordaens)
      • The Three Graces (Rubens)
      • Deucalion and Pyrrha (Rubens)
      • Sisyphus (Titian)
      • Punishment of Tythus (Titian)
      • Briseis given back to Achilles by Nestor (Rubens)
      • Narcissus (Cossiers)
      • Cadmus and Minerva (Jordaens)
      • Prometheus Carrying Fire (Cossiers)
      • Jupiter and Lycaon (Cossiers)
      • Orpheus and Eurydice (Rubens)
      • The Fall of Icarus (Gowy)
    • Musee d'Orsay >
      • Sarpedon (Levy)
    • The Louvre >
      • The Three Graces (Regnault)
      • The Abduction of Ganymede by Zeus (Le Sueur)
      • The Race between Hippomenes and Atalanta (Halle)
      • Ixion, King of the Lapiths, Deceived by Juno, Who He Wished to Seduce (Rubens)
      • Phaedra and Hippolytus (Guerin)
    • The Hermitage >
      • Feast of the Gods (Rottenhammer)
      • The Three Graces (Furini)
      • Helen Recognising Telemachus (Lagrenee)
  • Subjects
    • The Three Graces
    • Ganymede
    • Hylas and the Nymphs
    • Glaucus and Scylla
    • Prometheus
  • Index

Prometheus in Art

Prometheus has proven to be a popular subject for artists for many generations, for in the tales of Greek mythology, Prometheus was a prominent figure. 

Prometheus was a Titan god, or more specifically a second generation Titan, being the son of Iapetus. The Titians ruled the cosmos under the leadership of Cronus, but then the uprising of Zeus, saw a war erupt between the Titans and Zeus and his allies, the Titanomachy. Prometheus though, had the gift of foresight, and the Titan could see the outcome of the war, and so he did not participate in the fighting against Zeus. 

For this neutrality, Zeus, after the war, entrusted with creating life, with man, in some versions of the tale being his creation. Prometheus would become known as the benefactor of man, for Prometheus stole the secret of fire for mankind. It was though this theft, along with other misdemeanours that saw Prometheus punished by Zeus, for Prometheus would be chained to the Caucasus, where further punishment followed, with an eagle devouring Prometheus' regenerating liver everyday. 

The life story of Prometheus has been taken up by many prominent painters with famous works by Rubens and Jordaens.

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Copyright © 2018-2020
  • Home
  • Artists
    • Jan Cossiers
    • Herbert James Draper
    • Jacob Jordaens
    • Peter Paul Rubens
    • Johann Heinrich Tischbein the Elder
    • Titian
    • John William Waterhouse
  • Museums
    • The National Gallery >
      • Artemis and Callisto (Titian)
      • Judgement of Paris (Rubens)
      • Leda and the Swan (After Michelangelo)
      • Death of Actaeon (Titian)
      • Pan and Syrinx (Boucher)
      • Diana and Callisto (Bril)
      • Bacchus and Ariadne (Titian)
    • Prado >
      • Meleager and Atalanta (Jordaens)
      • The Three Graces (Rubens)
      • Deucalion and Pyrrha (Rubens)
      • Sisyphus (Titian)
      • Punishment of Tythus (Titian)
      • Briseis given back to Achilles by Nestor (Rubens)
      • Narcissus (Cossiers)
      • Cadmus and Minerva (Jordaens)
      • Prometheus Carrying Fire (Cossiers)
      • Jupiter and Lycaon (Cossiers)
      • Orpheus and Eurydice (Rubens)
      • The Fall of Icarus (Gowy)
    • Musee d'Orsay >
      • Sarpedon (Levy)
    • The Louvre >
      • The Three Graces (Regnault)
      • The Abduction of Ganymede by Zeus (Le Sueur)
      • The Race between Hippomenes and Atalanta (Halle)
      • Ixion, King of the Lapiths, Deceived by Juno, Who He Wished to Seduce (Rubens)
      • Phaedra and Hippolytus (Guerin)
    • The Hermitage >
      • Feast of the Gods (Rottenhammer)
      • The Three Graces (Furini)
      • Helen Recognising Telemachus (Lagrenee)
  • Subjects
    • The Three Graces
    • Ganymede
    • Hylas and the Nymphs
    • Glaucus and Scylla
    • Prometheus
  • Index