The Prometheus myth has been an inspiration for poets and novelists for many ages.

The myth tells the story of a clever titan who created humans and helped them to develop. He
is a friend of humans and takes care of them. He stole the fire from gods to give it to people.
When Zeus had sent beautiful Pandora on the Earth to destroy humankind he told people not
to trust her. However his brother married her and opened the barrel releasing all the sadness,
regrets and infortune. Prometheus decided to take revenge on the gods and gave them bones
covered with fat telling that this is what will be sacrificed to gods. This action made Zeus
furious and he decided to punish his old friend Prometheus knew he would be punished for
his actions and he was ready to face the consequences. When he found out what his
punishment is about to be he thought that it was too harsh however, he dealt with his faith.
Prometheus is presented as a hero ready to sacrifice for the society, for other people. The hero
is against the gods and he does not deal with atrocities. In this myth both sides of the conflict
are very stubborn and not ready to compromise. Zeus is presented as a merciless tyrant who
punishes Prometheus very harsh even though he was his friend who helped him with titans.
Prometheus, on the other hand is a very stubborn and rebelled character who tries to fight with
the cruel god and his rules. He refuses to be obedient. He feels that he is the only chance for
the humanity. He is a hero, sacrificing himself and ready to suffer for the eternity, for the sake
of other people. He is considered to be a friend of human, selfless and caring for them, he
treats them like children and for that reason is ready to do anything to help them. Prometheus
is also presented as a creator of civilization and culture. Moreover he shows that development
of humankind is connected with suffering, sacrifice and pain.
This myth as many other myths from mythology has been used in many forms in
literature and art. There are three ways to adopt the myth to the work of art recall (pol.
rewokacja) it is a repetition of the myth but not necessarily identical , reinterpretation
alteration of mythological motifs and prefiguration (pol. prefiguracja) combining
mythological motif with contemporary art. In the two poems written by polish poets, there is a
direct reference to the Prometheus myth. It is a reinterpretation of the myth. The first poem is
Prometeusz written by Leopold Staff.
Wstawszy raz lew nog z ka Jowisz srogi
Zwoa na zgromadzenie olimpijskie bogi
I rzek: "Mam tego dosy! Niech Herkules rusza
I wyzwoli natychmiast z pt Prometeusza,
Bo czy si wam podoba to, czy nie podoba,

Obrzyda mi ju tego pyszaka wtroba

I ten orze, co mu j wieczycie wyera,
I acuchy, i dzikie skay, et cetera."
I poszed, aby rozku go, Herkules z motem,
Lecz Prometeusz na to: "Ani mowy o tem,
Nie tykaj kajdan, niech ci si nawet nie marzy!
Czy nie widzisz, jak mi z tym Kaukazem do twarzy?"
"Dziewi Muz" (1958)
This poem has differs in many aspects from the original myth and for that reason it is
the reinterpretation. The motifs from the myth about Prometheus has been altered. The poem
is supposed to be comical, funny and satirical. The way characters are presented is reversed.
Gods become forgiving and merciful, deciding to finish Prometheus punishment. The victim
on the other hand becomes vicious and excessively proud. He is ready to keep on suffering to
remind others that he is a hero. The poets mocks Prometheus and his heroism, he is not a
quietly and humbly suffering hero. He wants everyone to know about his sacrifice. Gods are
also mocked, presented as ordinary people. The punishment that they is no longer interesting
for them. Jowisz does not want to look at Prometheus any more, he is bored with that. This
punishment is presented as a mean of entertainment for them. And Jowisz is presented as
moody and mind changing person. The poem is a limerick, mocking from the myth and
reinterpreting it. Prometheus is no longer admired and respected, he is rather a grotesque and
comic character.
The other poem is Stary Prometeusz written by Zbigniew Herbert.
Stary Prometeusz
pisze pamitniki.
Prbuje w nich wyjani
miejsce bohatera w systemie koniecznoci,
pogodzi sprzeczne ze sob pojcie
bytu i losu...
Ogie buzuje wesoo na kominku,
w kuchni krzta si ona- egzaltowana dziewczyna,
ktra nie moga urodzi mu syna, ale pociesza si,
e i tak przejdzie do historii.

Przygotowanie do kolacji na ktr ma przyj

miejscowy proboszcz i aptekarz
najbliszy teraz przyjaciel
Prometeusza.
Ogie buzuje na kominku,
na cianie wypchany orze i list dzikczynny tyrana Kaukazu,
ktremu dziki wynalazkowi Prometeusza
udao si spali zbuntowane miasto.
Prometeusz mieje si cicho.
Jest to teraz jednyny sposb
wyraenia niezgody na wiat.
This poem also refers to the myth. It is a reinterpretation of the Prometheus myth, using
themes and motifs from it. It presents the main character in a differently. He is an old man ,
who no longer suffers from the punishment, he is no longer a hero. He is living normal life,
writing memoirs, trying to explain what does it mean to be a hero and what is a place of a
hero in a history. Prometheus lives with his wife and now his life is normal, they sit by the fire
getting ready for the visit of their friends. His wife knows she will be the part of the history
thanks to her husband. Prometheus is no longer a young man ready to rebel and fight with
gods. He is forgotten, people no longer worship him and to he writes memoirs to be a part of
the history. The only thing that reminds of his heroic actions is the stuffed eagle and the letter
from the Caucasian tyrant. The letter is an acknowledgement for the fire which helped him to
destroy the rebelled city. This is an irony as the fire was supposed to help people but now it is
used to kill people who rebel. The irony is even stronger because Prometheus also rebelled
and now the tyrant similar to Zeus uses the fire stolen from him to kill people similar to
Prometheus. The other item from the poem that has a symbolic meaning is a stuffed eagle. In
his past it was a cause of his suffering and had control over him. Now it is just a stuffed statue
reminding Prometheus of his past. The end of the poem says that the only way for Prometheus
to show disapproval for contemporary world is to laugh quietly. The author of the poem
implies that rebel and fighting is for young people who have force to do that. Older people
should live calm life, and do whatever they can to make people remember about their
previous actions. The author also seems to doubt if it is worth to rebel and sacrifice if the
hero would be forgotten. Moreover the thing that one fought for may be used for wrong
purposes like the tyrant who used fire to burn the city. The poet tackles the issue of what it

means to be a hero, and how long one can be a hero. The original Prometheus was supposed
to suffer for his actions for the eternity. According to the poem he did not. He is simply
forgotten person who did something significant but no one remember what was it.