Prometheus in Mythology

Prometheus: the mortals benefactor

Prometheus encouraged the gods to make a mortal woman. The previous ages (Golden Age, Bronze Age etc. ..) did not last long with no women.

Pandora was a woman made by the gods. She became Epimetheus wife against Zeus's advice. Pandora came with a sealed vase, and tempted and opened the vase from which came all the troubles, weariness and illnesses that mankind is now burdened

Zeus blamed Prometheus, and chained him to a rock, with an eagle constantly eating his liver as punishment.

From Thomas Bullfinch

Prometheus took some of this earth, and kneading it up 
with water, made man in the image of the gods. He gave 
him an upright stature, so that while all other animals 
turn their faces downward, and look to the earth, he 
raises his to heaven, and gazes on the stars.

Prometheus was one of the Titans, a gigantic race, who 
inhabited the earth before the creation of man. To him 
and his brother Epimetheus was committed the office of 
making man, and providing him and all other animals with 
the faculties necessary for their preservation. 
Epimetheus undertook to do this, and Prometheus was to 
overlook his work, when it was done.

Epimetheus accordingly proceeded to bestow upon the 
different animals the various gifts of courage, strength, 
swiftness, sagacity; wings to one, claws to another, a 
shelly covering to a third, etc. But when man came to be 
provided for, who was to be superior to all other 
animals, Epimetheus had been so prodigal of his resources 
that he had nothing left to bestow upon him.

In his perplexity he resorted to his brother Prometheus, 
who, with the aid of Minerva, went up to heaven, and 
lighted his torch at the chariot of the sun. and brought 
down fire to man.

With this gift man was more than a match for all other 
animals. It enabled him to make weapons wherewith to 
subdue them; tools with which to cultivate the earth; to 
warm his dwelling, so as to be comparatively independent 
of climate; and finally to introduce the arts and to coin 
money, the means of trade and commerce.

Woman was not yet made. The story (absurd enough!) is 
that Jupiter made her, and sent her to Prometheus and his 
brother, to punish them for their presumption in stealing 
fire from heaven; and man, for accepting the gift

. The first woman was named Pandora. She was made in 
heaven, every god contributing something to perfect her. 
Venus gave her beauty, Mercury persuasion, Apollo music, 
etc. Thus equipped, she was conveyed to earth, and 
presented to Epimetheus, who gladly accepted her, though 
cautioned by his brother to beware of Jupiter and his 
gifts.

Epimetheus had in his house a jar, in which were kept 
certain noxious articles for which, in fitting man for 
his new abode, he had no occasion.

Pandora was seized with an eager curiosity to know what 
this jar contained; and one day she slipped off the cover 
and looked in. With  this there escaped a multitude of 
plagues for hapless man,- such as gout, rheumatism, and 
colic for his body, and envy, spite, and revenge for his 
mind,- and scattered themselves far and wide.

Pandora hastened to replace the lid! but, alas! the whole 
contents of the jar had escaped, one thing only thing left, 
which lay at the bottom, and that was hope.

So we see at this day, whatever evils are abroad, hope 
never entirely leaves us; and while we have that, no 
amount of other ills can make us completely wretched.

Another story is that Pandora was sent in good faith, by 
Jupiter, to bless man; that she was furnished with a box 
containing her marriage presents, into which every god 
had put some blessing, She opened the box carelessly
and the blessings all escaped, hope only excepted. This 
story seems more probable than the former; for how could 
hope, so precious a jewel as it is, have been kept in a 
jar full of all manner of evils, as in the former 
statement?

The Art of Elsie Russell Prometheus represented as the friend of mankind,
who interposed in their behalf when Zeus was
incensed against them, and who taught them
civilization and the arts. But by doing so, he
transgressed the will of Zeus, he angered Zeus

Zeus had him chained to a rock on Mount
Caucasus, where a vulture preyed on his liver,
which was renewed as fast as devoured.

Prometheus might have ended the torment at any
time by Prometheus.

If Prometheus had been willing, to submit to his
oppressor; because he had a secret which
involved the stability of Zeus's throne. If he
would have revealed it, he would have been in
Zeus's favor.

Prometheus refused to do so and has become the
symbol of magnanimous endurance of unmerited
suffering, and strength of will resisting
oppression.

Zeus fell in love with Io and seduced her. To try to keep Hear from noticing he covered the world with a thick blanket clouds. This backfired, arousing Hear's suspicions. She came down from Mount Olympus and began dispersing the clouds. Zeus changed Io's form a lovely maiden to a white heifer.
Zeus swore that he had never seen the cow before, it had just sprang right out of the earth. Seeing right through this Hear complimented the cow and asked to have it as a present. Zeus presented her with the cow.
Hear arranged Arges to watch over it. (Arges had a hundred eyes and could have some of them sleep while others were awake)
Desperate, Zeus sent Hermes to fetch Io. Disguised as a shepherd, Hermes had to employ all his skill as a musician and story teller to gain Arges confidence and lull him to sleep. Once asleep Hermes killed Arges. As a memorial, Hear took his eyes and set them into the tail of her favorite bird,the peacock.
While Io was now free Hear sent the mother of all gad-flys to sting the still bovine Io. This pushed her near madness, trying to escape she wandered the world.
She came across Prometheus while chained. He gave her hope. He predicted that she would have to wander for many years. But, she would eventually be changed back into human form and would bear a child. He predicted that a descendant of this child would be a great hero and set him free.
His predictions came true. During her wanderings many geographical features where named after her including the Ionian Sea, and the Bosphorus (which means ford of the cow).
She eventually reached the Nile where Zeus did restore her to human form. She bore Epaphus and eleven generations later her descendant Hercules would set Prometheus free.


Epilog: Hercules arrived on the Cacasus mountains and found 
the Titan, Prometheus chained to the cliff for 30,000 years. 
With a single arrow, Hercules shot and killed the eagle that 
had been eating Prometheus' liver for the last 30 millennia. 
Hercules than talked the Centaur, Cheiron (Who begged to be 
released form the pain caused by the Hydra's poison) into 
taking the place of Prometheus, since he was going to die 
anyway. Hercules than freed Prometheus from his chains 

PS.The Centaur, Cheiron, would automatically go to the 
Elysian Plain. Kind of like heaven. On the western margin of 
the earth, by the stream of Ocean, lay a   happy place named 
the Elysian Plain, whither mortals favored by the   gods were 
transported without tasting of death, to enjoy an   
immortality of bliss. This happy region was also called the 
"Fortunate   Fields," and the "Isles of the Blessed."

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