ENLIGHTENMENT

Prometheus is the illuminator of darkened minds, whose light burns the veils of dogma and superstition. But every act of illumination casts new shadows. The Titan’s fire is a poison as well as a gift – die Gabe ist das Gift – and to be enlightened in his image is to risk everything for the clarity it bestows. The archetype of Prometheus does not only embody the creative impulse; he is also the supreme emblem of Enlightenment. To grasp the full significance of Prometheus as a figure of illumination, one must move beyond the surface-level understanding of fire as a mere technological tool. Fire, in its Promethean sense, is the flame of reason itself, the radiance of intellect that cuts through the darkness of ignorance and superstition. It is a fire that does not just warm and forge, but one that awakens and liberates.