Invoking Prometheus in de Rerum Natura

Abstract: Scholars have long noted Promethean themes and allusions in dRN , especially in the anthropological narrative of Book 5. This short study goes beyond identifying allusions and reveals a program of wordplay that Lucretius employs to invoke the fire-thief's name. With these oblique intonations, Prometheus becomes a cipher for the illuminating labors of both the poet and his hero, Epicurus.