#prometheia

[honorthegods]

Happy Prometheia! 🔥

The Prometheia is a modern Hellenic polytheist festival honoring the Titan Prometheus and his gift of fire to humanity.

Featured image: Red-figure Bell Krater with Prometheus and Satyrs

Artist: Painter of Louvre (active late 5th century BCE)

Image description: Prometheus, holding a lighted torch in each hand, stands center, surrounded by satyrs dancing with torches. This is likely a scene from a play written by Aeschylus.

Collection of the Yale University Art Gallery: https://artgallery.yale.edu/collections/objects/1721

Image license: CC0 1.0 Universal - Public Domain

[ronsenboobi]

prometheus bound, tr. david grene, 1940

prometheus bound, tr. elizabeth barrett browning, 1851

prometheus bound, tr. marion clyde wier, 1916

[dionysianmystery]

On the Festival of Promethia (Prometheia)

Promethia (Prometheia): Date Unknown, Possibly Summer Solstice

A festival to Prometheus. The festival featured a torch ‘relay race’ that began at the altar of Prometheus at the grove of the Academy- the race, which, as the name suggests, was run with lit torches, from the Academy to the Acropolis, passing through the ‘potters quarter’ of the city. If a runner’s torch went out, they would be considered forfeit from the contest. This cult was closely associated with the cult of Hephaestus, and as such, both the Hephestia and the Promethia had choral competitions, as well as gymnastics contests, and further similarities can be expected between the festivals. Due to the relation of Prometheus and Hephaestus to Athena, Athens was one of the only places that held any major festival or celebration for the two.

Works Cited: Polytheism and Society at Athens, Parker

A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, William Smith (566)

Pausanias, Description of Greece, 1.30.2

[superheroes-or-whatever]

Justice League of America (2017-2018) #24 art by Neil Edwards 

[honorthegods]

PROMETHEIA 2023

The top event of the ancient Greek spirit. Four-day events on Mount Olympus, July 6, 7, 8, 9

[prometheia]

Qiqi scribble, she’s so silly

[honorthegods]

I’m the recent Christmas anon: I see you mention Heliogenna, a celebration of the winter solstice. Are there any similar festivals for the summer solstice? I live in New Zealand so we have the summer solstice 3 days before Christmas rather than the winter solstice. Many thanks!

No problem! Prometheia is a Hellenic polytheist festival observed at the Summer Solstice. More here and here. It was celebrated in antiquity with a torch race, so you might consider lighting a candle, getting outside for a few minutes in the evening, maybe taking a walk or run.

[honorthegods]

Prometheus Mosaic by Colette O’Brien (X), Callan Fire Station, Kilkenny, Ireland. Photo © Copyright Humphrey Bolton via geograph.ie 2014 (X). Licensed for reuse under  Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0). 

Today marks the Summer Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere. On this day, the Prometheiaon is observed, a modern Hellenic polytheist festival commemorating Prometheus’ gift of fire to humanity. More here.

“In one short sentence understand it all: every art of mankind comes from Prometheus.” Aeschylus, Prometheus Bound (Ln. 504-505)