Title

The Promethean, Volume 06, Number 01, Fall 1997

Authors

English Department, Concordia University-Portland

Files

Publication Date

Fall 9-1-1997

Letter from the Editor

Why The "Promethean"?

At the start of the semester, I asked some people on campus what they knew about The Promethean. The answers were humbling, ranging from "The what?" to "Is that the newspaper?" Forging fearlessly ahead, I then asked if anyone knew what "Promethean" might mean. Even the members of my staff seemed uncertain. It therefore occurred to me to explain what this word means and why it is an appropriate title for our campus literary magazine.

Webster's defines "Promethean" as 1. of or suggestive of Prometheus; 2. creative; boldly original.

Definition 2. seems clear enough, but Definition 1. seems to beg the question. So Promethean is suggestive of Prometheus? Great! That's like saying Rabelaisian is suggestive of Rabelais — not very helpful unless you know the meaning of the original term. Clearly more insight is required. Prometheus, it turns out, was a Titan — one of the children of Uranus, the ancient Greek personfication of heaven, and Gaia, the goddess of the earth. Prometheus stole fire from Mount Olympus, where it had previously been used only by the gods, and gave it to mortals. This was in direct defiance of Zeus, king of the gods, who was really ticked off about it. As punishment, Prometheus was chained to a rock, where every day an eagle tore out his liver, which regrew overnight, so that it could be tom out again. Finally, Prometheus was released by Hercules, another Greek godling who went around doing any number of good deeds of this sort.

So we at The Promethean encourage everyone to seek light and truth, challenge the status quo, and enhance the Concordia campus with their creativity. Many thanks to those who were bold and original enough to submit their work in this issue.

Managing Editor

Dove Hotz

Cover art by

Masako Saito

Disciplines

Creative Writing | Fiction | Nonfiction | Poetry

Rights

The Promethean is an annual journal of the College of Theology, Arts, and Sciences of Concordia University-Pordand. The publication of The Promethean is made possible with funding from the Associated Students of Concordia University (ASCU). The content is chosen by an editorial staff of faculty and student editors. The opinions expressed in the journal do not necessarily reflect those of the College of Theology, Arts, and Sciences of Concordia University. All works are copyrighted.

Recommended Citation

English Department, Concordia University-Portland, "The Promethean, Volume 06, Number 01, Fall 1997" (1997). The Promethean. 14.
https://digitalcommons.csp.edu/cup_archives_promethean/14