"Prometheus" (German: "Prometheus") is a short story by

Franz Kafka Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a German-speaking Bohemian novelist and short-story writer, widely regarded as one of the major figures of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of realism and the fantastic. It ty ...

written between 1917 and 1923, likely in 1918. The story presents four versions of the myth of

Prometheus In Greek mythology, Prometheus (; , , possibly meaning "forethought")Smith"Prometheus". is a Titan god of fire. Prometheus is best known for defying the gods by stealing fire from them and giving it to humanity in the form of technology, know ...

, concerning his fate after he was chained to a cliff for betraying the secrets of the gods to men. It was not published in Kafka's lifetime, first appearing in ''Beim Bau der Chinesischen Mauer'' (1931). The first English translation by

Willa and Edwin Muir Willa is a feminine given name. Notable people and characters with the name include: * Willa or Guilla of Provence (died before 924), early medieval Frankish queen * Willa of Tuscany (died 970), queen consort of Berengar II of Italy * Willa Brown ...

was published by

Martin Secker Martin Secker (6 April 1882 – 6 April 1978), born Percy Martin Secker Klingender, was a London publisher who was responsible for producing the work of a distinguished group of literary authors, including D. H. Lawrence, Thomas Mann, Norman Doug ...

in London in 1933. It appeared in '' The Great Wall of China. Stories and Reflections'' (

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

Schocken Books Schocken Books is a book publishing imprint of Penguin Random House that specializes in Jewish literary works. Originally established in 1931 by Salman Schocken as Schocken Verlag in Berlin, the company later moved to Palestine and then the U ...

, 1946).''The Great Wall of China: Stories and Reflections''. Franz Kafka - 1946 - Schocken Books

References

* Kafka, Franz. '' The Complete Stories''.

, 1995. {{Kafka Short stories by Franz Kafka Short stories published posthumously Prometheus Classical mythology in popular culture