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Mythology
 8 other titles

Studies In Comparative Literature 25

Legenda: Oxford, June 2013  
ISBN: 978-1-907975-52-3

On Zeus’ order, Prometheus was chained to Mount Caucasus where, every day, he was to endure his liver being devoured by a bird of prey — his punishment for bringing fire to mankind. Through the impulse of Goethe, his fortune went through radical changes: the Titan, originally perceived as a trickster, was established both as a creator and a rebel freed from guilt, and he became a mask for the Romantic artist. This cross-disciplinary study, encompassing literature, the history of art, and music, examines the constitution of the Prometheus myth and the revolution it underwent in 19th-century Europe. It leads to the Symbolist period — which witnessed the coronation of the Titan as a prism for the total work of art — and aims to re-establish the importance of Prometheus amongst other major Symbolist figures such as Orpheus.

Caroline Corbeau-Parsons is Assistant Curator 1850-1915 at Tate Britain.