Prometheus :

In Greek mythology, Prometheus was the creator of mankind. The goddess Athene taught him architecture, astronomy, mathematics, navigation, medicine, and metallurgy, and he in turn taught them to humans. Zeus, the chief of the Greek gods, became angry at Prometheus for making people powerful by teaching them all these useful skills.

When the gods chose Prometheus as arbiter in a dispute, he fooled the gullible Zeus into picking the worst parts of the sacrificial bull by hiding them under a rich layer of fat. To punish Prometheus, Zeus withheld fire from men. "Let them eat their flesh raw," he declared. In response, Prometheus, snuck up to Mount Olympus, lit a torch from the sun, and hid a burning piece of charcoal in a hollow stalk. He slipped away with it and thus delivered fire to mankind.

Zeus, as revenge, tried unsuccessfully to trick Prometheus’ brother, Epimetheus, into accepting the beautiful but mischievous Pandora as a gift. Epimetheus, mindful of earlier advice from his brother, refused. Even madder now that his trick had failed, Zeus had Prometheus chained naked to a pillar in the Caucasian mountains. A griffon-vulture ate at Prometheus’ liver all day long. During the bitter cold of the mountain night, the liver became whole again.

So it went day after day, year after year. Epimetheus married Pandora in an effort to free his brother. Pandora — as devilish as she was beautiful — opened the famous box in which Prometheus had shut up all the evils that might plague mankind : Old Age, Labor, Sickness, Insanity, Vice and Passion.

Only years later, at the behest of Heracles (Hercules), did Zeus free Prometheus.

(Source of information : Robert Graves, The Greek Myths, Moyer Bell Ltd., 1955.)

The Romantic poets recreated the myth again, focusing on Prometheus as a rebel and a symbol of human suffering. In a period which valued creativity, imagination and freedom, Goethe, Byron and the Shelleys identified Promethean spirit with their artistic freedom of expression :

“Sceptreless, free, uncircumscribed – but man ; equal, unclassed, tribeless and nationless ; exempt from awe, worship, decree ; the king over himself ; just, gentle, wise – but man.” (Percy Bysshe Shelley, Prometheus Unbound, 3.4, 194-197, c. 1820)

 Pygmalion

 The strange sculptor

Pygmalion was a sculptor par excellence, a man who gave to every one of his ivory a life-like appearance. His deep devotion to his art spared him no time to admire the beauty of women. His sculptures were the only beauty he knew. For reasons known only to him, Pygmalion despised and shunned women, finding solace only in his craft. In fact, he was so condemning to women that he had vowed never to marry.

 Falling in love with his own creation

One fine day, Pygmalion carved the statue of a woman of unparalleled beauty. She looked so gentle and divine that he could not take his eyes off the statue. Enchanted with his own creation, he felt waves of joy and desire sweeping over his body and in a moment of inspiration he named the figurine, Galatea, meaning "she who is white like milk". He draped over her the finest of cloths and bedecked her with the most dazzling of ornaments, adorned her hair with the prettiest of flowers, gave to her the choicest of gifts and kissed her as a sign of adoration. Pygmalion was obsessed and madly in love with his creation. The spell the lifeless woman cast on him was too much to resist and he desired her for his wife. Countless were the nights and days he spent staring upon his creation.

 The realization of his dream

In the meanwhile, the celebration of goddess Aphrodite was fast approaching and preparations were well under way. On the day of the festival, while making offerings to goddess Aphrodite, Pygmalion prayed with all his heart and soul, beseeching the goddess that she turns his ivory figurine into a real woman. Touched by his deep veneration, Aphrodite went to the workshop of Pygmalion to see this famous statue by herself. When he looked upon the statue of Galatea, she got amazed by its beauty and liveliness. Looking better at it, Aphrodite found that Galatea looked like her in beauty and perfection, so, satisfied, she granted Pygmalion his wish. Upon returning home the master-sculptor went straight to Galatea, full of hope. At first, he noticed a flush on the cheeks of the ivory figurine but slowly it dawned upon him that Aphrodite had heard his pleas. Unable to restrain himself, he held Galatea in his arms and kept her strongly. What had been cold ivory turned soft and warm and Pygmalion stood back in amazement as his beloved figurine came into life, smiling at him and speaking words of admiration for her creator. Their love blossomed over the days and before long, wedding vows were exchanged between the two lovers with Aphrodite blessing them with happiness and prosperity. The happy couple had a son, Paphos, who later founded the city of Paphos in Cyprus. Some say that Pygmalion and Galatea also had a daughter, Metharme. The bottom line is that the couple lived happily ever after.

 The influence of the myth on the arts

The story of Pygmalion and Galatea was made famous by Ovid in his famous work, Metamorphoses . However, the name Galatea was ascribed to the figurine only in the 18th century and gained prominence through Jean-Jacque Rousseau’s opera, Pygmalion (1762). Another famous work that is based on this myth is the play "Educating Rita", written by Willy Russel in 1980 . The story of the two lovers has been portrayed by many famous painters. Furthermore, we can’t but observe the similarity between the story of Galatea and the fable of Pinocchio , the wood-carved boy who was brought to life by a fairy-lady because of a man’s wish to have children. Source : www.greeka.com