In this episode we turn to the ancient Greek myth of Prometheus to continue our exploration of the archetypal Trickster. Prometheus is a trickster-like Titan who angered Zeus by giving fire to human beings. The connection between his mythological legacy and our impulse to innovate, create new technologies, and constantly, creatively fiddle with the world is contained in the term “promethean.”

Tricksters aren’t afraid to break the rules or mess with the big gods. But tricky as he is, Prometheus is not quite a Trickster with a capital “T.” He suffers for his love of mankind.

This is Part One of a two-part series. In this program I tell the story of Prometheus and the theft of fire. I’ll also explain this distinction between “Trickster” and “trickster-like.”

MITM theme music by Travis Rosenberg. Thanks to Radio Free Joshua Tree for providing MITM a home on internet radio-- and thank you for listening!

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