The Oldest Reading: Prometheus and the Arts of Divination

This chapter explores the roles played by Prometheus, for Hesiod and the later Greek tradition, in the early ages of humankind. More exactly, it focuses on one of the mantic techniques whose discovery is attributed to the rebellious Titan: divination through kledones, that is, fortuitously heard words and phrases. In “kledonomancy,” fragments of discourse perceived at the crucial moment are understood to convey vital messages to those able to interpret them. The first examples of such a practice of divination are to be found in the Odyssey. They echo in later ancient and modern inquiries into omens and portentous signs.