An Ambiguous Benefactor

     Having established a possible link between the figures of Prometheus and Satan in an earlier post I have decided to make some more comments on the nature of the ambiguous benefactor character.

In Hesiod’s Theogony Prometheus is presented as an archetypal trickster character who puts himself at cerebral odds with Zeus in order that mankind be better provided for. However, Prometheus’ motive is not initially, explicitly explained. It appears to the reader that he is engaging in a conflict purely for the exercise of his own wit; the so called benefits to mankind seem to me to occur as a by product of attempting to antagonise Zeus. Prometheus becomes seen as a benefactor to mortals because of the gifts bestowed that would otherwise have been withheld; this was expanded even further by Aeschylus in Prometheus Bound  where the Titan is credited with providing, ‘every art possessed by man’ (Prometheus Bound. 506) such as science, reason, divination, agriculture etc. No doubt such gifts do indeed make life liveable, but one must consider that prior to Prometheus’ attempt to dupe Zeus at the sacrifice of Mekone man lived, if not on a par with the Gods, then in a blissful state where they have sustenance provided by Mother Earth, there is no sickness, conflict or toil and no temptation of women to cause disruption, strife and potentially sin. It is at this point that the parallel with the Biblical narrative can be seen.

The Serpent in the Garden of Eden attempts to undermine the authority of Yahweh, very probably not to directly benefit mankind but rather to pursue his own agenda of self aggrandisement. Men lived comfortably in Eden before this sacrilegious intervention just as man in primordial Greece had lived in harmony with Earth but were potentially like pets to the god(s). There is no freedom without the potential to sin, no possibility of the exhibition of virtue without the fear of recrimination and punishment. Hence the double edged sword that Satan/Prometheus swings between the gods and man.

The gift that the serpent bestows is interesting when considering a comparison to Prometheus, for it is the gift of knowledge. The serpent says that, ‘your eyes shall be opened’ (Genesis 3:5) which parallels with Aeschylus’ Prometheus comment about humans that, ‘though they had eyes to see, they saw to no avail.’ (Prometheus Bound. 447). The name Prometheus in Greek literally translates as ‘forethought’ or ‘foreknowledge’ and so he is attributed with the gift of prophecy, a gift he provides for mankind in Prometheus Bound. The acquisition of knowledge is the central theme here, it is knowledge which Yahweh conceals from Adam and Eve in Eden and it is knowledge – manifesting itself in the sciences which Prometheus provides. The serpent says the fruit from the tree will provide mankind with the knowledge of good and evil, but what evil was there in the world before the serpents appearance? What evil was in man’s world before Zeus was forced to punish Prometheus and man with Pandora and all the ills contained in her jar? While it may be that these two figures disrupted the equilibrium of divine existence it can also be argued that they brought mankind out of the primeval darkness. They provided the first glimmers of rational thought, the potential for hope and virtue; they caused us to cease existing as animalistic entities and to emerge into a world of cognition and enquiry. They function in cultural memory as light-bearers, or in the Latin, Lucifers.

A further comparison can be seen between Prometheus and the definitive Satan character (rather than the primordial image of the serpent) in the book of Job. Again in this narrative we see a conflict of wills, egos and wits between the ruling god and the upstart subordinate.

As mentioned previously, the condition of man before the fall (in both Greek and Hebrew stories) leads us to consider the motives of the benefactor characters and this is repeated on a smaller scale, on perhaps a more personal scale in the story of Job.

Job was a man from Uz, he is a gentile, and some biblical scholars have interpreted him as representing ‘every man’ (The Old Testament    Prof. Amy-Jill Levine – The Teaching Company. 2001). Satan comes to God who then boasts of Job’s faith and virtue, Satan replies that Job is only faithful because God has blessed him; he is enclosed in his hedgerow, he grows food without toil etc. Satan then challenges God to test Job’s faith by causing him to feel the burden of hardship. We can thus interpret Job as representing mankind living at ease with gods and natural surroundings. Satan, like Prometheus, disrupts this existence so as to antagonise the ruling God thus causing hardship to rain down upon man. Job is in the darkness throughout the narrative, he does not understand the ways of the world. It is not Satan who provides enlightenment in this instance, it is God in the form of a whirlwind who provides the hitherto unknown knowledge, ‘who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? Therefore have I uttered that I understood not.’ (Job 42:3) Job then, like Adam and Eve, and the primeval Greeks have their eyes opened by knowledge, ‘I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee.’ (Job 42:5)

Satan, like Prometheus, instigates the mechanism by which man becomes able to understand the world. While this gift may come through pain and toil, while it may lead us down a path away from a previously happy existence we will ultimately be benefited because the ‘Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.’ (Job 42:10). The ambiguous benefactor then. He leads us into the light through his own desire for trickery and the nurturing of his ego. Do we thank him with a smile for his unintended gifts or do we rage against him for destroying our ‘Edenic’ past? The Lucifers of Greece and Israel have a lot to answer for, but they have also answered the questions which without them, would never have been asked.