I speak to you from the threshold of Olympus, from that fuzzy boundary where the light of the gods meets the shadow of mortals. I am Prometheus, the Titan who refused to remain silent in the face of injustice, the rebel who chose eternal punishment rather than see humanity mired in servitude. Today, I want you to hear the truth about the fire I placed in your hands and, above all, why the gods of Olympus tremble at the simple glow of a torch in the night.
Since time immemorial, the gods of Olympus have ruled with an iron fist, keeping mortals under their yoke. For Zeus and his lineage, you were nothing more than pets, curious but expendable beings who had to live in darkness. Your minds were limited by fear, your bodies subjected to the raw forces of nature and the capricious will of the immortals who laughed from the clouds. You knew nothing but cold, hunger, and absolute submission. The King of Olympus, in his infinite arrogance, preferred to keep you that way: weak, dependent, fearful of every lightning bolt that fell from the sky. But I saw in you something they did not want to see: an immense potential, a latent spark that only needed to be ignited to transform the cosmos.
The fire I gave you is not just the heat that emanates from burning wood. That is only its packaging, its most superficial aspect. The true fire I stole from Hephaestus' forge is the light of knowledge, the sacred ability to reason, to question established laws, and to create beauty from nothing. It is the force that allows you to overcome adversity, discover the hidden secrets of matter, and, most importantly, forge your own destiny. That fire, symbolized by the flame I gave you, is the seed of everything you call civilization today.
Remember the first moment you felt the heat in your hands. Back then, I didn't just offer you a tool to cook and warm yourselves on winter nights; I gave you the possibility of transforming your environment, of defeating the darkness that lurked from the caves. With fire came metallurgy to forge tools, pottery to store the fruits of the earth, and science to understand the movement of the stars. Every discovery, every innovation you have achieved since then, has been one more step toward your emancipation from divine tyranny.
The Fear of the Immortals
Have you wondered why Zeus was so enraged? The gods fear fire because they know perfectly well what it represents. They don't fear that you will burn your fingers; they fear your potential to match, and even surpass, divine power. They know that, over the centuries, you will not only understand the workings of the physical world, but you will also be able to challenge their mandates and free yourselves from their psychological control. I have given you the master key to open doors that were previously closed by dogma and terror.
With knowledge and creativity, you can question the arbitrary laws that Zeus imposed for his benefit. They know that a man who thinks for himself is a man who no longer needs to sacrifice oxen to appease the wrath of thunder. They know that knowledge is the poison of blind faith. That is why my act was seen as the ultimate crime: I did not steal property; I stole the monopoly on intelligence.
Think of the stories of your people, of how you have evolved since the first flame illuminated your faces. Remember how you learned to tame beasts, to sow the land with order, and to build cities that rival the beauty of the slopes of Olympus. Every step forward was a direct challenge to the established order. The gods wanted to keep you in a state of perpetual ignorance because in ignorance resides perfect submission. But I have shown you that there is more, that you can aspire to be much more than mere pawns on the chessboard of the immortals.
The Rebellion of a Titan
I confess that my act of rebellion was not just an impulse of compassion, although in your tired eyes I saw the pain of slavery and the burning desire for freedom. It was also an act of political war against Zeus, against his self-centered tyranny and his manifest injustice. By giving you fire, I reclaimed the right of every conscious being to possess the truth. I reclaimed your ability to be free, to innovate, and to fail on your own. Every flame you light in a laboratory, every idea that germinates in the mind of an artist, is a small but great victory against the despotism of heaven.
The gods tried to punish me with a cruelty that only perfect beings can imagine. They chained me to this desolate rock in the Caucasus, they sent an eagle to devour my liver every day, only for it to grow back at night and the torment to begin again at dawn. They thought the pain would break me, that my example would fade with my screams of agony. But they did not count on your resilience, on your infinite capacity to learn and evolve. Every time a human discovers new knowledge, every time science defeats a disease, my spirit is strengthened. My chains feel lighter when I see that the sacrifice was worth it.
The fear of the gods is not unfounded. They look down and see how the lights of your cities are beginning to eclipse the light of the stars. They know that the fire of knowledge is a double-edged sword, but a powerful one. They fear the day when you no longer need them to explain the rain or death. They fear that you will understand that their power is not absolute, but depends on the fear you have of them. They are right to tremble: humanity has the intrinsic right to govern itself, to forge its own destiny without the capricious intervention of beings who have never known hunger or effort.
The Responsibility of the Flame
But listen to me closely, because this warning is vital: with the great power of fire comes a terrifying responsibility. The gift I have given you can be a tool of sublime creation or total destruction. Just as it can illuminate the path to a future of peace, it can also consume everything in its path if it is handled with the same arrogance that I criticize in Zeus. Knowledge can be a blessing that heals the world or a curse that reduces it to ashes, depending exclusively on the hand that holds the torch.
You must learn to use reason with prudence. Do not let selfishness extinguish the light of wisdom. Share the fire; do not hoard it. Teach those who come after you with responsibility, because a shared flame does not go out; it multiplies. Look around you and see how art flourishes, how science advances by leaps and bounds. This is the true miracle. It doesn't just allow you to survive another day, but to thrive, to dream of worlds that don't yet exist, and to build realities that were once just myths.
Each new generation inherits this sacred flame and has the mission to carry it further, challenging the limits of what yesterday seemed impossible. The gods, believe me, have not given up. They will try to stop your progress. They will try to sow discord among you, feed the fear of the unknown, and use doubt as a rope to stop your march. But it is too late for them. They cannot extinguish the spark that burns at the center of your consciousness.
A Future of Freedom
You are no longer mere subjects trembling at the thunder; now you are creators, thinkers, and leaders of your own species. Fire has given you the backbone necessary to stand tall. Therefore, I ask you, dear humans, to value this gift above all things. Guard it like the treasure it is. Always remember that the power of fire does not reside in the wood that burns, but in the clear mind and brave heart of those who carry it.
Be curious to the core. Do not accept absolute truths just because someone shouts them from an altar. Be just, because knowledge without justice is just a more sophisticated form of barbarism. Let every fire you light, from a student's humble candle to a spaceship's engine, be a beacon of hope and a symbol of the freedom we won together the day I challenged Olympus.
I, Prometheus, give you this secret with the firm hope that you will use it to build a world where the gods no longer dictate your lives. A world where harmony is born from wisdom and not from fear. May the fire always burn in your hearts, illuminating the darkest corners of ignorance.
When you look at the night sky, do not hang your head. Look at the stars with determination. True power is not in the clouds; it is in you, in your insatiable thirst to learn and in your capacity to change the world with a single original thought. The fire is yours. The eternal flame of freedom is yours. Use it well, and for whatever you hold most dear, never let it go out.
This impressive sculptural piece captures the moment of greatest vulnerability and, at the same time, of greatest spiritual strength of the Titan. The work reflects the tension between the physical punishment imposed by divine tyranny and the comfort of the Oceanids, nymphs who represent compassion and solidarity in the face of unjust suffering.
Müller's sculpture is a marvel of neoclassical technique, where the marble seems to come to life to convey the weight of the chains and the softness of the female figures surrounding the fallen hero. It is a visual reminder that even in the most severe punishment, reason and empathy remain united.
THE WORK
Prometheus Bound and the Oceanids
Original Title: Prometheus, beklagt von den Okeaniden
Artist: Eduard Müller
Date: 1879
Material: Marble sculpture
Location: National Gallery, Berlin
