How possible was Prometheus’ punishment?

Sarah GENT, Ryan Robinson

Abstract


In this paper we discuss the feasibility of the regeneration of Prometheus’ liver – would cells be able to regrow fast enough to allow Prometheus’ liver to be eaten every day by an eagle?  For this, a simple model is constructed that incorporates the eating habits of eagles – how much food they eat in a day – as well as the natural regeneration time of a human liver. Our calculations have shown that if Prometheus’ liver was the only food source of the eagle (300 g consumed per day), it would take approximately 2 days for complete regeneration of the mass of Prometheus’ liver, but that 160.5 g of the liver could be eaten each day by the eagle and still result in complete regeneration.


Keywords


Mythology; Biology; Liver; Cellular regeneration; Organ regeneration; Prometheus (myth)

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References


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