Prometheus Bound

By Jeff Katzman

Prometheus Bound is the first book in a trilogy -- Prometheus Bound, Prometheus Unbound, and Prometheus Triumphs. The trilogy explores man's battle with the forces beyond his control (Prometheus Bound) using the forces within his control (Prometheus Unbound) to triumph over the human condition by triumphing over himself (Prometheus Triumphs).
Prometheus Bound is especially for college undergraduates who are focused on one particular subject in either the humanities or social sciences who want to form a clearer picture of the other disciplines and how they interact with one another. This book is also for those who want to have a better model and understanding of the world going on around them from the perspectives of the church, the economy, the state, the academy, and the family.
Prometheus Bound explores the timeless elements of the human condition that command us as we all play the power game in our lives.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jeff Katzman
• Release date: Jun 6, 2014
• ISBN: 9781310170447

Jeff Katzman

Jeff Katzman is the founder of Prometheus Enterprises and has been working on The Prometheus Project for over 25 years. Jeff has been a writer, a public speaker, a professor, a Vice President of Operations, and an economist. His motto is read classics and travel. Jeff wrote the companion volumes The Power Game Volume I and The Power Game Volume II. He is also the author of the companion volumes Prometheus Bound and Prometheus Unbound, Parts I and II of The Prometheus Trilogy. He is currently working on Part III of The Prometheus Trilogy -- Prometheus Triumphs.

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Prometheus Bound

Copyright 2014 Jeff Katzman

Published by Jeff Katzman at Smashwords

Version 2.2

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Table of Contents

Dedication

To the Reader

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Chapter 1: Nature

Chapter 2: Life

Chapter 3: Human

Chapter 4: Humanity

Chapter 5: The Church

Chapter 6: The Economy

Chapter 7: The State

Chapter 8: The Academy

Chapter 9: The Family

Chapter 10: The Power Game

About the author

Dedication

I dedicate this book to the six most influential people in my life:

To Mom, goddess of inspiration.

To Dad, god of reasoning.

To Dr. Bellon, god of encouragement.

To Courtney, goddess of beauty.

To Nicki, goddess of love.

To Jill, goddess of wisdom.

To the Reader

For humanity, life is a game -- a power game. Prometheus Bound aims to come as close as possible to hitting the nail of reality on the head by exploring the timeless elements of the human condition from the perspective of society toward the individual.

Prometheus Bound represents the executive summary of my entire research and education -- it is Part I of the two books that I wished I had had when I was making the transition into adulthood at the beginning of my college years. Since it is impossible for my title to help me in this way (since it didn't exist during my formative period years ago), it is my hope that Prometheus Bound will serve to guide you in your formative years and beyond. This book explains the forces beyond our control that have a major impact on our lives.

Prometheus Bound is especially for college undergraduates who are focused on one particular subject in either the humanities or social sciences who want to form a clearer picture of the other disciplines and how they interact with one another. This book is also for anyone else who wants to have a better model and understanding of the world going on around them as we all play the power game in our own lives.

Prometheus Unbound is Part II of the books that I wished I had had when I was making the transition into adulthood at the beginning of my college years. Prometheus Unbound explores the timeless elements of the human condition from the perspective of the individual toward society. This book explains the forces within our control that have a major impact on our lives. This authoritative book illuminates why we employ the strategies we do as we all play the power game of our lives.

Prometheus Unbound proves invaluable for those who want to undergo a meaningful and lasting transformation in themselves -- college undergraduates, people in recovery, or for anyone else seeking guidance who wants to convert from being human to acting like a human being.

Prometheus Unbound is for those who desire to form a clearer picture of themselves and to enrich the quality of their lives. This book is also for anyone else who wants to have a better model and understanding of the world going on inside of them as we all play the power game in our own lives.

Acknowledgements

Most of all I would like to acknowledge Prometheus -- the Greek titan, god, and muse who represents the treasure trove of all past human achievement. When we stand on the shoulders of those who came before us, we stand on the shoulders of Prometheus.

As a species, humanity still would not be all that interesting if each generation were only passing on its limited experience to the next verbally. We only became interesting when we switched from conversing amongst ourselves to conversing with the ancients. The best of these conversations are the ones in which the wisest men and women who ever lived followed the great chain of being and wrote collections of the best ideas of all time.

I too have followed this great chain of being starting with Homer and following it to the present. In particular, I would like to thank Nietzsche, Thoreau, Hesse, and Emerson for being the best guides in my life and providing me with the wisest ideas on the timeless elements of the human condition.

Cover photograph: Peter Paul Rubens' Prometheus Bound, 1618. This painting is currently housed in the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Introduction

Prometheus Bound explores man's battle with his name,

As Being fights Human within his corporal frame.

Though it is with Being that adults are entertained,

Human is far deeper in our souls ingrained.

Try as Being might, He will never Human tame.

Being acts angelic but fails all the same;

'Cause Human's instinct fuels life's eternal flame.

Nature embraces Human since He procreates the game;

Through Human’s offspring, life satisfies its aim.

When the battle's over, it is Human who proclaims:

"I always dominate; I always reign;

Never once has Being Me overcame."

Introduction to the Trilogy

This book is a love poem to life and a giving thanks to being alive. It is also the one book that would have made my life much easier and my understanding of the world much richer had I absorbed everything herein in my youth. My hope is that this trilogy will guide you on your journey through life.

The Prometheus myth inspired me to write this book. Prometheus was the ultimate rebel -- an ingenious and impious titan who accomplished many daring deeds to grant gifts to his favorite creations -- human beings. Prometheus's most famous accomplishment was stealing fire from the gods and gifting it to humanity. Zeus was so angered by Prometheus's revolt that he ordered Prometheus to be chained to a mountain for eternity. However, wily and clever Prometheus outsmarted and overcame Zeus and freed himself, going on to become the savior of humanity.

Aeschylus, an ancient Greek poet and playwright, wrote a version of the myth that took the form of a trilogy of plays -- Prometheus Bound, Prometheus Unbound, and Prometheus Triumphs. Only Prometheus Bound remains with us -- for time has destroyed the two final volumes. In honor of Aeschylus, my version completes the trilogy while offering a fresh interpretation of the Promethean myth.

Just as the Olympian gods' triumph over the titans represents the triumph of the clever over the strong, the triumph of Prometheus over Zeus represents man's ability to triumph over the forces of nature and life as he redeems himself. The moral of the myth is that we must learn to embrace and to love our fate since fate has supreme and eternal power over us.

Prometheus suffered in secret seclusion to see to humanity's success -- making us out of clay, giving us fire, wisdom, knowledge, language, mathematics, art, technology, domesticated animals, medicine, and the Promethean shield. This shield is the veil of life -- it obscures death and offers blind hope to us all.

As a young adult I had an accident, cracking my skull and shattering my Promethean shield. From that day forward, the most defining moment of my life has been my near death. The negative results of my head injury remind me daily of my own mortality. At the same time, I was extremely fortunate that my head injury was a temporary setback from which I recovered long ago. Prometheus granted me a second chance at life. Since that fateful day, every day has been holy -- an opportunity for me to master the art of living and myself.

This trilogy calls for a revolution -- not against the ruling class, or the powers that be, or against any other authority. This revolutionist's handbook calls for a revolutionary transformation in yourself and in the way you view the world. It explores man's battle against the forces beyond his control (Prometheus Bound) using the forces within his control (Prometheus Unbound) to triumph over the human condition by triumphing over himself (Prometheus Triumphs).

As you read Prometheus Bound and Prometheus Unbound, picture an eagle soaring high in the sky. The eagle starts circling thousands of feet above the earth and slowly spirals down. The eagle starts in Prometheus Bound, hovering in the lofty realm of nature; then it spirals down through life; then through man's ancestry; then through humanity; then through the estates of the church, the economy, the state, the academy, and the family. Finally, the eagle hones in on you and explores your deepest depths in Prometheus Unbound. May you too fare well on your journey through life as you master the art of living and yourself.

Love,

Jeff

Introduction to Prometheus Bound

The Prometheus myth takes us back over three thousand years to the age of the ancient Greeks. The myth tells the tale of Prometheus -- a mysterious combination of man, hero, god, and titan. Prometheus rebels against the Olympian gods as he struggles to make life more joyous for humanity. He is the ultimate rebel; impiety incarnate; the lover of humanity; the great creator; the fire thief; the man-molder; and the gift-giver of arts, science, knowledge, and civilization. As Atlas supports the earth, Prometheus supports human beings -- lifting us on his back and carrying us higher and higher.

Zeus, king of nature, is represented as a tyrant who passes judgment in a cruel and arbitrary manner. He becomes aware of Prometheus' deeds and punishes him for it, chaining him high in the dark recesses of the Caucasus mountains. Here Prometheus is to remain imprisoned for eternity -- too far removed for us to see him but close enough so that he can still see us. Prometheus suffers each day, with only faint hope of ever regaining his freedom. Yet Prometheus' pain, suffering, and death awareness serve as the source of his intelligence -- of his creative fire.

Prometheus can be interpreted in many ways -- as the mythological hero of Aeschylus' Prometheus Bound; or as the symbol of perpetual growth and increasing strength; or as the paragon of human creators; or as every great work of genius that our forefathers have passed down to us; or even as the treasure trove of all past human achievement. When we stand on the shoulders of those who came before us, we stand on Prometheus' shoulders.

Ironically, the most important and advantageous of all Prometheus' creations is also the least well known. Prometheus invented a shield that we use to protect ourselves from the most awesome force of all -- death. The Promethean shield casts a veil over us. In all beginnings we are surrounded by the magic force emanating from this shield, which guards us and compels us to live as if we are not going to die.

In my life, a mysterious twist of fate has both blessed and cursed me. One fateful day, I had a serious accident. Out with the blood flowed many of the illusions and delusions that I had formerly harbored out of necessity -- the lies we tell ourselves so that we can carry on with our lives. We play psychogymnastics as we invent hundreds of phantasmofantastics that serve to protect us from the dangerous world that threatens our survival each and every day.

As I recovered, I realized that this accident offered me a special way of viewing the world. I had been given the chance to observe life from beyond the Promethean shield -- as if I were outside looking back in. Since that fateful day, I no longer harbor the illusion that nature or life or humanity is going anywhere -- unless endlessly cycling around in the same orbit is somewhere. I no longer harbor the illusion that humanity is somehow fundamentally different from the rest of the living world. I no longer harbor the illusion that I will have a lasting influence on my fellow human beings. Most importantly, I no longer harbor the illusion that I am not going to die.

Prometheus serves as the muse for all creators as he guides us in our pursuit of humanity's highest task -- out of love for contemporaries and even for the most distant progeny, we seek to advance humanity, if only a few paces. With my mind, imagination, memory, and thinking capacity intact, but with my Promethean shield permanently damaged beyond repair, I offer my perspective on Nature, Life, Human, and Humanity.

Prometheus Bound explores the timeless elements of the human condition -- focusing on the forces beyond our control. These forces command us from the moment we are thrown into this world until the moment we depart. The task is to examine these forces as they are.

So long as the Promethean fire burns bright within me, I will use it to create something from nothing. Prometheus Bound aims to fulfill my Promethean calling -- to challenge the gods and to play with the charm of making. Join me on a voyage of discovery -- one that explores the forces that command us.

Chapter 01: Nature

Nature is force -- a carnival of clashing forces continuously colliding and connecting with one another. Nature has no beginning and no end. It has always been; it is; and it will always be. It has neither goal nor purpose, unless cycling around in the same circle is a goal or a purpose. The forces rise and fall -- an endless building up and breaking down. The vision that comes to mind is that of the sea, of the waves breaking on the rocks, of the water endlessly rushing in and flowing out, only to rush back and to flow forward once again. We are surrounded by the ebb and flow of nature's perpetual motion, of its infinite movement over infinite time across infinite space.

Nature is infinity. Nature transcends time, lying beyond all of humanity's attempts to categorize and control it. Time's current passes through us, but infinity remains when we have flowed on by. From cosmic to atomic forces, the universe forever expands and contracts, endlessly orbiting around itself.

Nature is perpetual