Prometheus

Prometheus

Pariah of Gods, Savior of Man

"Zeus did not punish Prometheus alone, he punished the entire world for the effrontery of this rebel god."

In Greek mythology, Prometheus, or Prometheas' (pronounced - pro ME thee us) which means forethought, is the Titan most notably honored for stealing fire from the gods in the stalk of a fennel plant and giving it to mortals for their use. As the introducer of fire and inventor of crafts, Prometheus was seen as the patron of human civilization. Some claim he was worshipped in ancient Rome as well along with other gods.

Family of Prometheus

Prometheus was a son of Iapetus by Clymene (one of the Oceanids).

His three brothers were:

Atlas - who Zeus condemned to stand at the western edge of the earth and hold up the heavens on his shoulders.

Menoetius - A glorious warrior who was insolent to Zeus.

Epimetheus - twin brother of Prometheus and was responsible for giving a positive trait to every animal, but when it was time to give man a positive trait, lacking foresight he found that there was nothing left.

He was the father of Deucalion with Pronoia

Prometheus surpassed all in cunning and deceit.

Legend of Prometheus

He was not humbled by the gods, and ridiculed Zeus, though he fought with the gods against the other Titans. Titanomachy, or War of the Titans, was the eleven-year series of battles fought between the two races of deities long before the creation of mankind.

Prometheus was the creator of man. When he and Epimetheus set out to make creatures to populate the earth under the orders of Cronos, Prometheus carefully crafted a creature after the shape of the gods, that being a man. There was also an account, stating that Prometheus had created men out of earth and water. Prometheus felt compasion for his creations, and watched as they froze in the cold and winter's nights. He decided to give his most favored creation a great gift. He took sacred fire from the Hearth of the gods and brought it to men in a hollow wand of fennel. Thus warming mankind. To punish Prometheus for this (and evidently mankind in the process), Zeus devised such evil for man that they shall desire death rather than life, and Prometheus shall see their misery and be powerless to help them. "That shall be his keenest pang among the torments I will heap upon him." Zeus couldn't just take fire back, because a god or goddess could not take away what the other had given.

Zeus was enraged because the giving of fire began an era of enlightenment for Man. He had Prometheus carried to Mount Caucasus, where an eagle by the name of Ethon (who was the offspring of the monsters Echidna & Typhon) would pick at his liver; it would grow back each day and the eagle would eat it again. Some legends tell of Zeus having Prometheus tortured on the mountain because he knows the name of the person who, according to prophecy, will overthrow the king of the gods. This punishment was to last 30,000 years.

As Prometheus was hanging, shackled to the rockface, he spoke to Okeanos (Ocean) and the river's daughters. They were all shocked at Zeus' excessive punishment but Prometheus warned them not to speak out against Zeus, it would do no good. Zeus would soon fall from his throne and they had but to wait for that inevitable moment.

When Io, who was also being punished by Zeus, came upon Prometheus and the daughters of Okeanos, she wanted to know her future. Prometheus, even in his tortured condition, tried to spare the feelings of the poor girl. She had been transformed into a black and white heifer and was cursed to wander, prodded by an evil gadfly. Her future was only slightly better than his but she was lucky because she was mortal and would die and be rid of her earthly torment. He, on the other hand, was immortal. His torment would last forever.

The journey of Io was crucial to the release of Prometheus from his bonds. After her wandering journey to Egypt, Io was returned to her human form and had a glorious son named Epaphos.

About 12 generations later, Heracles (i.e. Hercules in Roman mythology), passing by on his way to find the apples of the Hesperides as part of the Twelve Labours, freed Prometheus, in a bargain he had agreed with Zeus in exchange for Chiron's immortality, by shooting the eagle with an arrow. Zeus did not mind this time that Prometheus had again evaded his punishment, as the act brought more glory to Heracles, who was Zeus's son. Prometheus was invited to return to Olympus, but he still had to carry with him the stone that he was chained to.

To punish man for the offenses of Prometheus, Zeus told Hephaestus to mingle together all things loveliest, sweetest, and best, but look that you also mingle therewith the opposites of each. So Hephaestus took gold and dross, wax and flint, pure snow and mud of the highways, honey and gall; he took the seas beauty and its treachery, and the mother bird's heart of love and the cruelty of the tiger. All these, and other contraries past number, he blended cunningly into one substance and this he molded into the shape that Zeus had described to him. She was beautiful as a goddess and Zeus named her Pandora which meant "all gifted".

Zeus breathed upon her image, and it lived. Zeus sent her to wed Prometheus' brother, Epimetheus, and although Prometheus had warned his brother never to accept gifts from the Olympians, Epimetheus was love-stricken, and he and Pandora wed. The Gods adorned the couple with many wedding gifts, and Zeus presented them with a beautifully wrought box. When Pandora opened the box, all suffering and despair was unleashed upon mankind. Zeus had had his revenge.

Prometheus had sired the human Deucalion, one of the noble couple whom Zeus had spared when he caused the creatures of the earth to be destroyed by a flood. Deucalion was married to his cousin Pyrrha, the daughter of Epimetheus and Pandora. During the flood, Deucalion and Pyrrha had stayed safe on a boat. When all the other evil humans had been destroyed Zeus caused the waters to recede so that Deucalion and Pyrrha could come to land on Mount Parnassus. While they had each other for company, and they could produce new children, they were lonely and sought help from the oracle of Themis. Following the advice, they threw stones over their shoulders. From those thrown by Deucalion sprang men and from those thrown by Pyrrha came women. Then