Prometheus, The Friend of Man
The story of Prometheus holds a
special place in Greek mythology and popular imagination. This son of a Titan
is regarded as one of the great benefactors of humankind, the bringer of fire,
and the original teacher of technology and the useful arts to man.
The great love he had for humans
often brought Prometheus into a dangerous conflict with Zeus, the mighty and
cruel chief of the Olympian gods. The meaning of the name Prometheus,
Forethought, signifies the intellectual qualities of his many-sided character.
According to some accounts, Prometheus is even credited with the creation of
the male of the human species
The Conflict with Zeus
Prometheus was born to the Titan
Lapetus and the nymph Clymene. Although Prometheus was the son of a Titan and
supposedly allied to them, he had helped Zeus to gain victory in the War of the
Titans, the celebrated "Titanomachy", which was the fight between the
Titans led by Kronos, the father of Zeus, and the Olympian gods. The war
resulted in Zeus dethroning his father and establishing his reign as the chief
god on Mount Olympus.
Prometheus is also said to have
helped in the birth of the goddess Athena, by keeping open the head of Zeus as
a fully-formed Athena issued out of the gaping hole in her father's head. The
relationship went well between Zeus and Prometheus in the beginning. However,
as men on the Earth multiplied and prospered, aided by Prometheus who had given
them fire and many beneficial arts, Zeus became concerned about their growing
power.
The anger of Zeus against mankind,
and their helper Prometheus, was first aroused when the latter duped the chief
god into choosing the worst part of a sacrificial bull. Prometheus wrapped the
bones of the slain bull in fat while he covered the best part, the flesh, with
the intestines. Zeus unknowingly chose the fat-covered heap of bones, while the
flesh wrapped in the intestines was given to hungry men by their patron
Prometheus.
Stealing the Fire from the gods.
An enraged Zeus in revenge withheld
fire, the most necessary element of civilization, from humankind, putting them
to untold miseries. However, Prometheus soon came to their help. He stole fire
from the workshop of Hephaestus, the god of fire and patron of artisans and
craftsmen, and passed it, hidden in a stalk of fennel, on to humankind.
According to other accounts, Prometheus stole fire from the hearth of the gods
on Mount Olympus.
The Severe Punishment
Zeus decided to punish once and for
all Prometheus, who had made foul of the chief of the Gods. He had Prometheus
chained onto a rock on Mount Caucasus for eternity, and put him to relentless
torture by having a vicious eagle feed on his liver. The liver would grow up
again at night so that the eagle could happily eat it again the next day.
This endless pain was the punishment
of Prometheus for having helped mankind. His screams were full of pain and
despair. Even the gods in far away Olympus could hear them and Zeus was happy
because this was also a warning for his enemies. According to some versions of
the legend, the liver of Prometheus would have been the daily meal of the
aforementioned eagle till the end of time, if the great hero Hercules hadn't
killed the eagle and hadn't released Prometheus from his torment.