ABSTRACT

"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."

chapter |6 pages

Introduction

part I|30 pages

From the Beginnings to the Nineteenth Century

part II|48 pages

The Nineteenth-Century Turning Point: From Myth to Symbol

part III|45 pages

Prometheus and the Crisis of Faith

chapter 1|16 pages

Symbolism and Myth

chapter 2|10 pages

‘The Twilight of the Gods’

part IV|54 pages

The Many Faces of Prometheus

chapter 2|16 pages

The Vitalist Prometheus

chapter 4|13 pages

Prometheus and the Total Work of Art

chapter |4 pages

Conclusion