Freud is best known for his unusual theories in the unconscious mind. He is famous for his ‘Oedipus theory’ stating that all mean want to marry their mother and kill their father. However his theories on Prometheus are less celebrated and less known. Could this be due to the fact that it is too bizarre and odes not actually make complete sense?
He believed there were three parts of the psychic apparatus; these were the id, ego and superego. In simple terms the id has been described as our ‘animal instinct’, the ego as our reality and the superego as our morals and conscience. He believed that the id is based on our pleasure principle and drives us to meet our basic needs. The ego understands that other people have needs and desires and that sometimes being impulsive or selfish can hurt us in the long run. Whereas the superego develops due to the moral and ethical restraints placed on us by the people around us and the expectations in life. Many associate the superego with our right and wrong.[1]
Freud’s interpretation of the Prometheus myth is not his most famous and is disregarded by many psychologists. He likes to emphasize the fennel stalk. He interprets it as a phallic signal to represent man. Prometheus hides the fire in a fennel stalk (penis). Thus this may show the strength of man. Freud believes that the gods are not gods, but just an embodiment of the human unconscious desire like the id. Zeus wants to take fire away from man, thus wants water on the fire. Freud believes in our unconscious mind men also want water on the fire thus want to urinate on the fire. Prometheus is the ego to Zeus’s id. Fire can also be seen as sexual desire. Freud plays with the idea that one penis wants to pee on the fire and another wants to create it trough this he shows the homosexuality desire.[1]
There are many flaws in Freud’s interpretation of the Prometheus myth. He misses out the creation of women and Prometheus tricking Zeus. This may be because Freud’s previous research on women and the penis envy do not fit in with the Prometheus myth. I do not agree with Freud’s interpretation of the myth as he tries to find comparisons that do not exist.
[1] http://allpsych.com/psychology101/ego.html
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