Mad scientist dangerous or questionable, which can make them accidental villains. The prototypical fictional mad scientist was Victor Frankenstein, creator of his eponymous monster, who made his first appearance in 1818, in the novel "Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus" by Mary Shelley. Though the novel's title character, Victor Frankenstein, is a sympathetic character, the critical element of conducting experiments that cross "boundaries that ought not to be crossed", heedless of the consequences, is present in Shelley's novel. Frankenstein was trained as both an alchemist and a modern scientist, which makes him the bridge between two eras of an evolving archetype. The book
Prometheus the Fire-Bringer Prometheus the Fire-Bringer Prometheus the Fire-Bringer (Ancient Greek: Προμηθεὺς Πυρφόρος, "Promētheús Pyrphóros") was probably the final play in the "Prometheia" trilogy traditionally ascribed to the 5th century BC Greek tragedian Aeschylus. As conventionally reconstructed, this trilogy reimagines the myths of Prometheus found in Hesiod's "Theogony" and "Works and Days". In the first play, "Prometheus Bound", the Titan is chained to a rock and tortured for giving fire to humankind, as well as teaching them other arts of civilization. In the sequel, "Prometheus Unbound", the Greek hero Heracles kills the eagle that Zeus sent to consume Prometheus' regenerating liver every day,