Prometheus

[ pruh-mee-thee-uhs, -thyoos ]

/ prəˈmi θi əs, -θyus /

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noun Classical Mythology.

a Titan, the father of Deucalion and brother of Atlas and Epimetheus, who taught humankind various arts and was sometimes said to have shaped humans out of clay and endowed them with the spark of life. For having stolen fire from Olympus and given it to humankind in defiance of Zeus, he was chained to a rock where an eagle daily tore at his liver, until he was finally released by Hercules.

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Words nearby Prometheus

promenade concert, promenade deck, promethazine, Promethea moth, Promethean, Prometheus, Prometheus Bound, Prometheus Unbound, promethium, promilitary, prominence

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use Prometheus in a sentence

In March, the Post reported that investors in Prometheus wanted out.
Magazine Honcho Pushed Out?|Nick Summers|July 30, 2011|DAILY BEAST
He went immediately to the company that would become Prometheus.
Magazine Honcho Pushed Out?|Nick Summers|July 30, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Like Galt—a cross between Prometheus and Joe the Plumber— Rhodes is an eerily familiar precursor.
A Populist Frankenstein|Lee Siegel|November 26, 2009|DAILY BEAST
To be so humbled in the knowledge of any living being, was the vultures of Prometheus to the proud heart of Ripperda.
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 3 of 4|Jane Porter

No creature of the Greek imagination would have been a suitable inhabitant for it except Prometheus alone.
Overland|John William De Forest
Before this sculpture, with its obscure designs, a man might have dreamed of Prometheus roughly sketching for Michael Angelo.
Toilers of the Sea|Victor Hugo
Some accounts, however, say that Prometheus made both man and woman out of clay.
Ancient Faiths And Modern|Thomas Inman
But the fount of inspiration, the source of temporary elation and strength, had not been exhausted by Prometheus.
The Life and Letters of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Volume I (of 2)|Florence A. Thomas Marshall

British Dictionary definitions for Prometheus

Prometheus

/ (prəˈmiːθɪəs) /

noun

Greek myth a Titan, who stole fire from Olympus to give to mankind and in punishment was chained to a rock, where an eagle tore at his liver until Hercules freed him

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for Prometheus

Prometheus

[ (pruh-mee-thee-uhs, pruh-meeTh-yoohs) ]

In classical mythology, the Titan who stole fire from the gods and gave it to humans. As punishment for the theft, Zeus ordered Prometheus chained to a rock and sent a great eagle to gnaw at the Titan's liver. Despite his torment, Prometheus refused to submit to Zeus' will. He was eventually rescued by Hercules.

notes for Prometheus

Prometheus has become a symbol of lonely and valiant resistance to authority. Aeschylus wrote a play, Prometheus Bound, and Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote a long poem entitled “Prometheus Unbound.”