20th March 2025
Mary Sharp
Prometheus was a Titan who, according to Greek legend, created the human race and then famously incurred the wrath of Zeus by stealing fire from the gods to preserve it. The punishment that Zeus devised was both cruel and ingenious. This lecture goes back to original sources to re-tell the story, explore the remarkable parallels with Adam and Eve and trace its influence from Reubens to Henry Moore and from Frankenstein, through Great Expectations to the Alien movies. Mary will explore our enduring interest in the ideas that thread their way through the numerous adaptations and reflect on what they reveal about our changing attitudes to religious belief.