6. Mesopotamian Myth
In the opening scene of
Prometheus an Engineer gives up his life to create humanity on Earth. Its difficult not to see the parallels with the Sumerian god Geshtu and the sacrificial Engineer in this early scene. Sumerian mythology is convoluted but essentially there were two groups of gods- the I'gigi and the Annunaki. In one key myth, the I'gigi were a race younger gods who were servants of the Annunaki, until they rebelled and were replaced by humans. Humans were created by the sacrifice of a minor god called Geshtu- and Sumerian legend says that he was sacrificed by the greater gods and drops of his powerful blood were used to create mankind. This is definitely reminiscent of the first scene in
Prometheus.
7. The Mythology of William Blake & Gnosticism
We already talked about how Blakes illustrations formed inspiration for the physical depiction of the Engineers in
Prometheus. But Blake also developed a complex mythology that appears to have had a bearing on the story as told in the movie. In Blake's later myth (he constantly revised his mythology and incorporated new themes), a fallen creator known as Urizen (the Satanic element of the fourfold division of God) acts as the creator figure for the world. This is basically a retelling of the concepts at the heart of Gnosticism- the belief that the one true supreme god is remote and untouchable and that creation as we know it stems from an imperfect demiurge. We can definitely see this embodied with the narrative of
Prometheus- where life as we know it stems from the less-than-perfect fallen angels' - the Engineers- who created us for an as-yet largely unknown purpose.