2 of 4

Write now Article Tools

Page 2 of 3

authority and sought out his own gifts to give to man.

Prometheus therefore went amongst the Olympian gods, and stole wisdom from Athena, and also stole reason to give to man. Prometheus though knew that Zeus would need to be appeased and so he also taught mankind how to make sacrifices to the gods. Zeus was happy with the idea and was willing to overlook Prometheus' disobedience. Prometheus though would not leave the situation be in such a simple way, and so sought a way for man to benefit from the situation. Thus the meat of the sacrifice was separated into two piles, one for the gods and one for man to keep. One pile was made from the best meat, and one was made from the skin and bones. Prometheus then disguised the skin and bone by wrapping it in appetizing fat. Zeus was therefore tricked into choosing the poorer sacrifice, and man was allowed to keep to best of the meat. Thus all future sacrifices were also decided.

Zeus was not at all pleased with the outcome of the initial sacrifices, and so in revenge he took away the ability of man to make fire. Prometheus could not allow man to suffer from his deceit, and again as he was no respecter of Zeus's rule, he decided to steal fire from Mount Olympus. Making use of a fennel-stalk, Prometheus stole an element of fire from the workshop of Hephaestus. Prometheus then travelled to Sikion on the Peloponnesus and taught the inhabitants how to make, and make use of fire.

Prometheus once again though escaped the direct wrath of Zeus for his disobedience. Instead Zeus decided to punish mankind again. Zeus had Hephaestus create Pandora from clay. Pandora was then sent to Epimetheus with her box as a wedding gift for the pair from the Olympian gods. The box was opened and all of world's evil was released onto mankind, leaving just hope behind.

Unlike in other tales of Greek mythology, Zeus certainly had a long temper when it came to dealing with the disobedience of Prometheus. There was though one final show of disobedience that even Zeus could not ignore. With the ability of being able to see the future, Prometheus had information about the prophecy that foretold of Zeus' overthrow at the hands of his own son. Prometheus though refused to divulge any information. Zeus thus angered decided upon an eternal form of punishment for Prometheus. Prometheus was therefore chained to an unmovable rock in the Caucasus Mountains, there he would be attacked each day by an eagle that would eat his liver. Being immortal though the attack

• << previous page
• 1
• 2
• 3
• next page >>

Add your voice

Know something about Greek mythology: Who is Prometheus??
We want to hear your view. Write now!