Prometheus and the Mythology of Fire

In ancient Greek mythology, Prometheus was not only the titan god of fire and forethought, but also a benefactor of humanity. Unlike many deities who manipulated mortals for selfish gains, Prometheus felt empathy for humanity and made tremendous sacrifices to protect them from the wrath of the gods. Though Prometheus suffered for his allegiance to humans, his story contains a powerful message that resonates to this day. The story of Prometheus begins during the Titanomachy, a ten-year war between the Olympian gods and the titans, an older generation of gods, to decide who would control the universe. Prometheus and his brothers Epimetheus, Atlas, and Manetius were children of the titan Hiapetus, and were presumed to side with the titans during the Titanomachy. However, Prometheus utilized his power of foresight to predict the fall of the titan army. He believed the war would be won by cunning rather than might, but his relatives would not heed his warning. So Prometheus and Epimetheus betrayed the titans and joined forces with Zeus. As Prometheus predicted, the Olympians emerged victorious over the titan army and seized control of the universe. When the Titanomachy ended, the titans were cast into the great abyss Tartarus. But Zeus spared Prometheus and Epimetheus and gave the two brothers an important task to distribute the gods' gifts to the mortal creatures that populated the world. One by one, Epimetheus equipped the animals with advantageous traits like wings, fins, and sharp claws. Meanwhile, Prometheus began sculpting the first mortal man out of mud and water. In some versions of the story, Prometheus molded the very first humans, but other sources say Prometheus was responsible for repopulating the earth after a great flood. According to the Greek poet Hesiod, man was created first, either by Prometheus or the Olympian gods. The first mortal woman was not created until later in the story, though many female deities did exist long before mortal men. In fact, Athena, the goddess of wisdom, is sometimes said to have breathed life into Prometheus' creations. Though Prometheus worked tirelessly to mold the first mortal man, thanks to Epimetheus, man was left with no tools to survive. By the time Epimetheus finished distributing traits to the animals, he realized that he had exhausted all the gods' gifts. Due to his brother's oversight, Prometheus' creations were shivering in the cold and suffering from the attacks of now-powerful, ferocious beasts. So, Prometheus gave humans the greatest of the gods' gifts, the power of fire. According to Aeschylus, an ancient Greek playwright, Prometheus also taught his creations how to use language, create medicine, and understand signs from the gods. While Prometheus adored his creations, the king of the gods did not harbor the same affections for humanity. In the beginning, Zeus demanded that humans sacrifice all their food to the gods. Disdainful of his greed, Prometheus struck a bargain with Zeus. Instead of burning all their meat, the humans would divide their feast into two portions, sacrificing one to the gods and keeping the other for themselves. However, Zeus would choose which portion they kept and which they burned to the heavens. So Prometheus slaughtered a great ox or perhaps two bulls and divided the sacrifice into two portions. For the first portion, he gathered the best chops of meat and cleverly hid them beneath the animal's unappetizing stomach. For the second portion, Prometheus took the animal's inedible bones and covered them with a layer of succulent fat. When Prometheus presented the two portions to Zeus, the king of the gods fell for his trick and selected the second portion as the gods' share. This explains why the ancient Greeks sacrificed animal bones to the gods while keeping the most appetizing chops for themselves. As punishment for Prometheus' trickery, Zeus took away the fire that Prometheus had previously given to mankind. For many days and nights, men once again lived in the cold and dark. Unable to bear the suffering of his creations, Prometheus climbed to the top of Mount Olympus and stole fire from the sacred hearth. Hiding the burning flame in a fennel stalk, he rushed down the mountain and triumphantly returned fire to the humans. At the Olympic Games, the carrying of the torch represents the sacred fire stolen by Prometheus from the heavens. Before long, Zeus witnessed the flickering lights of campfires from his high seat on Mount Olympus. He became infuriated at Prometheus for betraying him, so Zeus devised a cruel punishment for the titan's beloved creations. The king of the gods asked Hephaestus, the blacksmith god, to create the first woman, named Pandora. She was dressed by the goddess Athena in a gown of heavenly silver and possessed all the charms of the gods, but Pandora was also imbued with an insatiable curiosity that would one day wreak havoc on humanity. Given a box or a jar that she was told never to open, Pandora was sent to Earth as Zeus' gift to Prometheus' brother, Epimetheus. Earlier in the story, Prometheus warned his brother not to accept any gifts from Zeus, fearing the king of gods would punish him by making humanity suffer. Epimetheus, whose name means afterthought, could not resist Pandora's charm and beauty, so he ignored his brother's warnings and took Pandora as his wife. While living on Earth, Pandora struggled to resist her mounting urge to open the forbidden vessel. Finally, her curiosity overwhelmed her and she opened the lid just enough to peer inside. Out sprang a flurry of curses, illnesses, and hardships, releasing onto humanity all the evils of the world. In some versions of the myth, when Pandora finally sealed the vessel, one spirit remained inside, the spirit of hope. Through Pandora, Zeus taught humanity to live by his rules, but Prometheus remained unpunished. So the king of the gods bound him with iron chains to a boulder in the Caucasus Mountains. Each day, a giant eagle would descend upon Prometheus and devour his liver. Of course, Prometheus was immortal. Each night, his wounds would heal and his liver would regenerate. When the sun rose again, the giant eagle would return to feast on Prometheus' organs. This punishment continued day after day for 30,000 years until Prometheus was finally rescued by the hero, Heracles. As part of his 12 labors, Heracles was commanded to retrieve golden apples from a secret garden protected by the Hesperides, the daughters of Prometheus' brother, Atlas. While searching for the garden, Heracles wandered into the Caucasus Mountains, where he stumbled upon Prometheus, bound in chains. Soon the eagle swooped down, expecting to devour Prometheus' liver, but Heracles killed the bird with his arrows. Out of gratitude, Prometheus told Heracles how to retrieve the golden apples and complete his eleventh labor. Some versions of the myth say that Zeus released Prometheus from his chains after Prometheus did the Olympian a great service. At the time, Zeus planned to marry a woman named Thetis, with whom he had fallen in love. Unknown to Zeus, the Fates, three goddesses of destiny, had issued a prophecy that any child of Thetis would be more famous and powerful than its father. Following a similar prophecy, Zeus won control of the universe by overthrowing his own father, Kronos, who overthrew his own father, the primordial deity Uranus, in the ancient Greek creation story. Luckily, Prometheus overheard the Fates' prophecy and advised Zeus not to marry Thetis. As a reward, Zeus unchained Prometheus from the boulder in the Caucasus Mountains, and instead wrapped two bindings of stone and iron around the titan's finger to commemorate his original punishment. Centuries after the fall of the ancient Greeks and Romans, the story of Prometheus still runs strong through our culture. Several common phrases, like carrying the torch and opening Pandora's box, stem from this ancient myth. Promethean archetypes also enrich our literature, from religious texts to the works of Lord Byron and Mary Shelley. For a time, they even guided our quests into the cosmos with NASA's retired project Prometheus. This fictional god of fire has also inspired people throughout history to make sacrifices in the name of individual freedoms. Against the greatest, cruelest powers of the universe, Prometheus refused to turn against his beloved creations. Today he lives within our collective memory as a cultural hero, demonstrating the power of every individual to resist oppression and create lasting change.