Prometheus Bound (by Thomas Cole) Ceramic Tile

This design features a painting by the English-born American artist Thomas Cole (1801–1848). It shows Prometheus, the God of Fire in ancient Greek mythology, bound to a rock. He had been tied to a cliff by Zeus, the King of the Olympian gods, as punishment for gods by stealing fire from them and giving it to humanity in the form of technology, knowledge and civilization in general. Prometheus is known for his intelligence and for being a champion of mankind, and is also generally seen as the author of the human arts and sciences. The original artwork was painted by Thomas Cole in 1847, and it is now housed in the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.