Prometheus

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The statue of Prometheus in Rockefeller Center, Manhattan

In Greek mythology, one of the Titans or "elder gods": said to have been responsible for the creation of man. His brother Epimetheus had been entrusted with the making of animalkind, and gave them many excellent gifts -- swiftness, strength, and so on, as well as horns and fangs and other ways to protect themselves. Prometheus, however, took so long in working on his own creation -- humanity -- that all the best gifts were already given out by the time his own creation was ready. He therefore stole fire from the Gods and gave it to mankind as the best possible gift under the circumstances, and the only one which would eventually guarantee them both survival and mastery over their environment.

In HW, the One's Champion states that he has had many names among mankind, one of them being Prometheus; he states that he was sent many times to put "the fire" -- meaning not only the sciences, but also wizardry -- into mankind's hands. He also states that this was no theft, but the intent of the One. There would seem on the surface of things to be some confusion or conflation of the Champion's role as the Michael Power with that of the Wise Power, as he further states that he was sometimes known as Athene and Thor. However, it seems that there is some sharing of attributes among the Powers that Be, and that their strictly mythological avatars may share attributes of one or more of them.

A famous statue of Prometheus by the great American sculptor Paul Manship is sited in the lower plaza area in front of 30 Rockefeller Center, and is possibly the best-known of the many art installations scattered around the Rockefeller Center complex. This statue is prominent among the sculptures who answer Kit's use of the Mason's Word at the end of SYWTBAW. Behind the statue, in the red sandstone of the wall beneath the Esplanade, are set in bronze the words of a verse from the Greek poet Aeschylus: Prometheus, teacher in every art, brought the fire | that hath proved to mortals a means to mighty ends. (SYWTBAW, HW at al.)