Prometheus fire meaning. Promethean fire. See what "Prometheus. Prometheus fire" is in other dictionaries

The expression "Prometheus Fire" has been heard by every person, but not everyone knows what it means and where it came from.

Knowledge of such an expression speaks of a high culture of a person, the study of mythology, erudition. Therefore, in order to fully understand the meaning of the phraseological unit “Prometheus fire”, you need to remember the content of the myth and analyze the events of a beautiful story about a hero and the gods who punished him.

Who is Prometheus?

Prometheus fire (or Prometheus fire) is a phrase whose roots go back to ancient Greek mythology. According to the myth, Prometheus was a hero who helped the supreme god Zeus, but also served ordinary people. He helped people learn to read, write, build ships and equip their lives.

The myth of Prometheus

In order to make life easier for people, Prometheus stole fire from the gods and took it to ordinary people. This plot of the myth can be considered not only literally, but also allegorically. That is, fire can symbolize the light of knowledge, which dispels fears, self-doubt and humility before unknown future events. Therefore, the meaning of the phraseologism "Prometheus fire" is closely related to intellectual knowledge and creativity.

The punishment to Prometheus was very severe: Zeus ordered Prometheus to be chained to a rock, to which an eagle would fly every day to peck Prometheus's liver, which grew again and again. The torture was endless, and only the confession of Prometheus could stop it, who would become the mother for the son of Zeus, capable of overthrowing the mighty father.

People grateful to Prometheus worried about their hero, but could not help him. Only Hercules could free Prometheus and kill the eagle.

Phraseologism

The meaning of the phraseologism "Prometheus fire" is the desire to achieve lofty noble goals aimed at the benefit of other people through self-sacrifice. Based on the fact that Prometheus helped people develop science and art, the phrase is applied mainly to activities in these areas of life.

In a simplified sense, the meaning of the phraseologism "Prometheus fire" is the courage and nobility of a person. This can be said about a person who seeks to work on the enlightenment of society, supports creative aspirations, spending his time and effort on this to the detriment of his own success.

This expression is not often used today. But the beauty of myth and deep meaning phrase is worth keeping it in your vocabulary and using it at the right time in everyday life.

Prometheus. Promethean fire

Prometheus in Greek mythology is one of the titans; he stole fire and taught people how to use it, which undermined faith in the power of the gods. For this, the angry Zeus ordered Hephaestus (the god of fire and blacksmithing) to chain Prometheus to a rock; the daily flying eagle tormented the liver of the chained titan (Hesiod. Theogony; Aeschylus. Bound Prometheus). The expression "Prometheus fire" that arose on the basis of this myth is used in the meaning: the sacred fire burning in the human soul, the unquenchable desire to achieve lofty goals in science, art, community service. The image of Prometheus is a symbol of human dignity, greatness.

Dictionary of winged words. Plutex. 2004

See what "Prometheus. Prometheus fire" is in other dictionaries:

Promethean fire

Fire [Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

- (inosk.) gifted, courageous benefactor of mankind (creator of rational culture) hint at mythol. Prometheus Wed. Poetry! your sanctuary nature! As the ancient Prometheus from the cloudless vault Stole the ray of living pre-eternal fire, So you draw your fire from ... ... Michelson's Big Explanatory Phraseological Dictionary

Prometheus- wing. sl. Prometheus in Greek mythology is one of the Titans; he stole fire and taught people how to use it, which undermined faith in the power of the gods. For this, the angry Zeus ordered Hephaestus (the god of fire and blacksmithing) to chain Prometheus to ... ... Universal additional practical explanatory dictionary by I. Mostitsky

- (Promnteus) in other Greek. mythology one of the titans. According to myths, P. helped Zeus defeat the titans, created the first people, blinding them from earth mixed with water, taught them to build dwellings, drive ships, taught astronomy, writing, etc. ... ... Soviet historical encyclopedia

Alexander Nikolayevich (25 XII 1871 (6 I 1872), Moscow 14 (27) IV 1915, ibid.) Rus. composer and pianist. The composer's father, Nikolai Aleksandrovich S., was a diplomat in Turkey; mother Lyubov Petrovna (nee Shchetinina) was an outstanding pianist ... Music Encyclopedia

next in line idiom "Promethean fire" .

This is a well-known phraseological unit from the myths of Ancient Greece.

let's consider meaning, origin and sources of phraseology, as well as examples from the works of writers.

The meaning of phraseology

Promethean fire - unquenchable desire to achieve high goals

Synonym: noble aspirations

AT foreign languages there are direct analogues of the phraseological unit "Prometheus fire":

Promethean fire (English)
Das Feuer des Prometheus (German)

Prometheus fire: the origin of phraseology

According to ancient Greek myths, Prometheus was a titan, one of the progenitors of the Greek people. His name is translated as foreseeing or guardian. And this is very symbolic: Prometheus anticipated the increase in the role of people on Earth and was pleased that people could realize their potential.

Actually, Prometheus fire is the fire he stole from the forge of the god Hephaestus and transferred to people. Thus, Prometheus made people like gods, which caused the wrath of the supreme god of Greek mythology, Zeus.

Zeus's punishment was severe:

the blacksmith god Hephaestus was ordered to chain Prometheus to the rock of the Caucasus Mountains in Kalkhida (probably, for the Greeks, the Caucasus located in the north for the purposes of imprisonment was something similar to Kolyma for the Russians)
the eagle was ordered to fly in every day and torment his liver (which, however, had time to regenerate in a day).
a woman Pandora was sent to the Earth, because of which disasters and diseases spread among people (see phraseologism "Pandora's box")

And so Prometheus would have to suffer forever, like Sisyphus (see the phraseology “Sisyphean labor”), but fortunately the famous and active Greek hero Hercules came across him, who shot an eagle from a bow and freed the titan.

What his further fate is unknown. But it is known that Prometheus had a wife and a son. According to some sources, he did not limit himself to transferring fire to people, but taught them crafts, arts and other useful and developing things.

Sources

Various but contradictory information about Prometheus is contained in the works of Hesiod, Apollodorus, Aeschylus.

Examples from the works of writers

- How! exclaimed Madame Claes, impatiently interrupting her husband, “this man, having spent only one night under our roof, could steal your love from us, could he destroy the happiness of the whole family with a single phrase, with a single word?” Dear Balthazar! Did he make the sign of the cross over himself? Have you looked at it properly? Only the tempter can have such yellow eyes, throwing Promethean fire. Yes, only an unclean spirit could tear you away from me. From that day on, you ceased to be a father, husband, head of the family ... (O. Balzac, "Search for the Absolute")

Bending over, he crawls out the door, and Marakuev and Klim go to Varvara's to drink tea.
Covering her eyes with her eyelashes, she says with bewilderment, which seems to Samghin to be false:
- A revolutionary for me is a poet, Uriel Acosta, the bearer of the Promethean fire, and here is the Deacon! (M. Gorky, "The Life of Klim Samgin")

After long centuries of cruelty, a man appeared, equal to the gods, whom the Greeks called Prometheus. Without a doubt, this sage in the shelter of the nymphs communicated with the tribe of salamanders. From them he took over the art of making and maintaining fire, taught to them by miserable mortals. Among all the other innumerable advantages that man was able to derive from this divine gift, the most beneficial was certainly that from now on he could cook food and, using this, make any food more digestible and tender. And, perhaps, it was precisely due to the influence of food exposed to fire on a person that people began to slowly and gradually gain reason, learned to think, became more entrepreneurial, got the opportunity to develop the arts and sciences. (A. France, "The Tavern of Queen Goose Paws")

Prometheus fire Book. Express. An irresistible, unquenchable desire to achieve high, noble goals. Loving your friend, you love in him not something private, accidental ... but that Promethean fire, that divine principle, which is the common heritage of human nature, in a word - the idea(Belinsky. Articles on folk poetry).

Phraseological dictionary of the Russian literary language. - M.: Astrel, AST. A. I. Fedorov. 2008 .

Synonyms:

See what "Promethean fire" is in other dictionaries:

promethean fire- noun, number of synonyms: 2 nobility (11) aspiration (38) ASIS Synonym Dictionary. V.N. Trishin. 2013 ... Synonym dictionary

Promethean fire- wing. sl. Prometheus in Greek mythology is one of the Titans; he stole fire and taught people how to use it, which undermined faith in the power of the gods. For this, the angry Zeus ordered Hephaestus (the god of fire and blacksmithing) to chain Prometheus to ... ... Universal additional practical explanatory dictionary by I. Mostitsky

Promethean fire- Book. Spirit of nobility, inextinguishable desire to achieve high goals. /i> From ancient Greek mythology. FSRYA, 294; BMS 1998, 417 418 ...

promethean fire- the fire will sweep her, the fire will sweep her ... Russian spelling dictionary

Prometheus. Promethean fire- Prometheus in Greek mythology - one of the titans; he stole fire and taught people how to use it, which undermined faith in the power of the gods. For this, the angry Zeus ordered Hephaestus (the god of fire and blacksmithing) to chain Prometheus to a rock; ... ... Dictionary of winged words and expressions

promethean- fire [Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

THE FIRE- Burn on fire. Psk. Demand immediate execution (about work, business). POS 7, 106. It does not burn on fire, it does not sink on water. Razg. Approval About a man who knows how to stand up for himself in any circumstances. F 1, 123. Between (between) two fires. Psk. That … Big Dictionary Russian sayings

Prometheus- (inosk.) gifted, courageous benefactor of mankind (creator of rational culture) hint at mythol. Prometheus Wed. Poetry! your sanctuary nature! As the ancient Prometheus from the cloudless vault Stole the ray of living pre-eternal fire, So you draw your fire from ... ... Michelson's Big Explanatory Phraseological Dictionary

IN FULL SWING

AT IT'S PEAK- what to be At the moment or period of the highest rise, activity, highest tension. It means that an event, a situation, a state of affairs, a state of what l. (P) have reached the highest point of development, the strongest manifestation. Speaks with approval... Phraseological dictionary of the Russian language

Books

Promethean fire. Reflections on the Origin of the Mind, C. J. Lumsden, E. O. Wilson. There is a missing link in human evolution that few known facts testify to and about which, oddly enough, very, very little has been written. This is not some kind of transitional ... Buy for 979 UAH (Ukraine only)
Elbrus. A New Look. Photo album, Zaur Vorokov. `They say the legend of Prometheus was born here... When Zeus decided to exterminate the human race, replacing it with a new generation, the titan Prometheus rebelled against it. In the stalk of a slowly smoldering reed...

Not everyone can explain the meaning of the expression "Prometheus' fire", although sometimes it can be found in textbooks.

Prometheus fire: the meaning of phraseology

Prometheus fire - the desire to achieve a high and noble goal (an unquenchable inner desire to achieve something).

Prometheus fire: make a sentence with a phraseological unit

Prometheus fire embodies the inextinguishable desire of man for good.

Mankind has never been indifferent to the outstanding scientific discoveries and technical progress... A person is attracted and frightened Promethean fire.

Prometheus fire will never go out in the hearts of the heroes, for the love of their people, they agree to give everything.

The Promethean fire burns in every person, and only he himself can extinguish it in himself.

Prometheus fire: the history of the emergence of phraseology

Prometheus is a titan, a powerful hero of ancient Greek myths. His image and name have become widespread in European literatures and phraseological units. Taking pity on people who did not know fire and were helpless in the fight against natural elements, Prometheus stole fire from the gods and handed it over to mortals. For this, the supreme god condemned the titan to terrible torment: he was chained to a rock in the Caucasus Mountains, and each giant eagle tore the body and pecked out the liver. At night, the wounds healed, and in the morning the body was ready for new torments. Subsequently, the mighty Hercules freed the sufferer on the orders of Zeus, captured by the endurance and courage of Prometheus.

The expression "Prometheus fire" is used when it characterizes the spirit of nobility, courage and talent, and "Prometheus of torment" when it comes to suffering in the name of a lofty goal.

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