Prometheus Bound
The Myth of Prometheus
In Greek mythology, the Titan known as Prometheus was known for his cleverness and generosity, as well as for being a trickster. In some versions of the mythology, Prometheus was given the job of creating mankind. He formed the people out of clay, and the goddess Athena breathed life into them.
Prometheus then gave his brother, Epimetheus, the job of distributing different gifts and strengths to the creatures of the Earth. Epimetheus gave the various creatures gifts such as speed, the ability to fly, strength, and fur. But when he finally got to the humans, there were no more gifts left to give.
Prometheus looked down at mankind and pitied them for struggling in the harsh environments on earth. Because of his love for his creation, Prometheus stole fire from Mount Olympus and presented the gift to the humans.
When Zeus saw the humans huddled around their hearths, he became furious with Prometheus, the god of forethought, and decided to punish him. Zeus had Prometheus chained to a mountain for all of eternity and sent an eagle to fly down and feed on his perpetually-regenerating liver every day. There on the mountain, Prometheus remained trapped until the day Hercules would rescue him.
In addition to Prometheus' punishment, Zeus also punished mankind by instructing the god Hephaestus to create the first woman, Pandora. She would bring illness, war, death, and other things to further separate man from the greatness of the gods.
Prometheus Bound
In this sculpure, Elisabet Ney recreated the classical myth of Prometheus, the Greek Titan who stole fire from the gods to give to mankind.
Ney sculptured Prometheus Bound in plaster in 1865 while still living in Europe. It is said that Ney's Prometheus, which was started soon after Giuseppe Garibaldi's portrait, is a composite of the "Promethean" men in her life: Edmund Montgomery, Arthur Schopenhauer, Joseph Joachim, and certainly, Garibaldi, whom she once referred to as "the old chained Prometheus."
During the 1890s the sculpture was damaged while being transported to the United States. Ney attemped to repair the sculpture later in her life, and Prometheus Bound was one of the last sculptures that she worked on before her death in 1907.