"Prometheus, teacher in every art, brought the fire that hath proved to mortals a means to mighty ends." are the words inscribed on the granite wall behind the sculpture of Prometheus. Apparently the mention of fire and mortals is a reference to Greek Mythology in which Prometheus, Titan God and son of Iapetus and Themis, and brother to Atlas, Epimetheus and Menoetius, stole fire from Zeus and gave it to the mortals. Upon eyeing the sculpture you can spot fire being held in his right hand. Not very far away from this spot can be seen the statue/sculpture of Atlas. It is there on 5th Avenue in front of one of the Rockefeller Center Buildings that he stands in great magnificence. As mentioned above, Atlas was brother to Prometheus.

It is no wonder that this would be one of the most recognizable sculptures/statues in all of America. Aside from the fact that it's located in the sunken portion of Rockefeller Center in front of perhaps the most recognizable Ice Skating Rink in the World it is also below the most familiar Holiday / Christmas Tree. The gold of the statue with the surrounding waters and fountain plus the lights that shine upon it certainly make this gem a wonderful eye-catcher. It's the sort of thing which'll stop most folks in their tracks. Of course it's only during the holiday seasons that we all get to enjoy the fully unobstructed view of its beauty. Let us not forget the millions upon millions of tourists and New York City Natives who visit this spot during the Autumn and Winter Season. There they'll be snapping photos and ogling over the wonder of what New Yorkled considers to be the unofficial Christmas Capital of the World.

On related notes, it was sculptor Paul Manship who was commissioned in 1933 to create this masterpiece. The sculpture itself weighs about 12,500 pounds according to one source yet another source claims that number to be 8 tons which would put it at 16,000 pounds. Its dimensions are: 8 x 10 x 18 ft and it is made of bronze with 24 karat double weight gold leaf which at last record was applied in the year 2000. A year earlier in 1999 Prometheus had been moved away from its location for 5 months for the sake of renovation to its surroundings. We're not sure if the gold leaf had ever adorned the sculpture beforehand.

Should you ever be in the area during the Autumn, Winter and Early Spring Months then you'd be selling yourself short by not at least paying a visit to this location.

In the future a free image download or two will be offered through New Yorkled's sister site. Of course such item(s) will feature one or more of our trademarks presented in as obscure a fashion as possible. Stay tuned.