Search

The present paper deals with the cosmological role of the Titans in Hesiod's Theogony. Starting from their imprisonment in the Underworld, the Titans are depicted as an intermediate generation of gods, situated midway between the primordial divine powers like Heaven and Earth and the complexly developed cosmos under the rule of Zeus and the Olympian generation. Their role being mainly transitional, these gods under the rule of Cronos can't be fully incorporated into the new world-order, and they had to be locked away in the peripheral underground regions of the world, where hidden memorials of the cosmic origins are maintained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper deals with (presumably) Aeschylus' play Prometheus Bound and its main character, the Titan Prometheus. Prometheus is presented not only as a cultural hero who has brought various craftsmanship to mortal men, but also as a tragic person, an ancient titanic god fighting with the providence and the will of the Olympian Zeus, the new sovereign of the world. In the last part, the cosmological relevance of Prometheus' punishment is outlined, linking Prometheus' destiny at the Far East of the world with that of his brother Atlas who keeps Heaven and Earth apart, being located at the opposite Far West of the cosmos. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]