PROMETHEUS AND THE THEFT OF FIRE – Humans loved a Titan with the story Prometheus and the theft of fire with moral lesson and summary. He gave the greatest blessing for humans to use in life.
The Titan, Prometheus, committed the biggest crime in Greek mythology. With it, the ruler of all gods, Zeus, punished him.
Do you want to know what he did? Just continue reading to see the reason behind this mischievous story of Prometheus.
Prometheus and the Theft of Fire
Once upon a time, in Greek mythology, there was a titan god named Prometheus. He was the son of the Titan Iapetus and the Oceanid Clymene.
They belonged to the Titan gods, who the Olympian gods preceded, for they also resided on Mount Olympus.
Prometheus was one of the first gods and a cousin of Zeus. He is the brother of Epimetheus, Atlas, and Menoetius.
His name means the forethinker, for he is the one who thinks ahead. It is opposite to his brother Epimetheus that was the afterthinker.
Prometheus was not involved in the Titanomachy, so Zeus saved him from Tartarus. Zeus gave him a mission of forming a man with water and earth.
He accomplished the task and was fond of the humans. He didn’t care much about the gods and was much more comfortable around mortals.
On one occasion, Prometheus served up an ox in two ways; he offered the ox’s bones wrapped in fat to the gods. On the other hand, he served the men with ox’s finest meat covered with the ox’s insides.
Zeus was annoyed that he gave a good portion of the meat to the mortals and nothing but the ox’s fat to the gods. So, he called out Prometheus on this.
Zeus grew angry with his cousin trying to trick him for the sake of the mere men, so he denied man the power of fire.
Prometheus didn’t think it was just. Being cunning and rebellious, he stole the eternal fire from Mount Olympus. He brought it back to earth with a fennel stack and gave it to men.
For this act, he was punished by Zeus. He tasked Hephaestus to mold the most beautiful creature no mortal had ever seen. The creature was Pandora, who the after-thinker Epimetheus foolishly accepted.
As it happened, Pandora opened the jar she brought and released all kinds of diseases and pains plaguing humans as punishment.
Zeus’s punishment of humans didn’t alleviate his anger. He punished Prometheus by chaining him to a rock on Mount Caucasus, where he sent an eagle to prey on him.
Every day for many years, the eagle pecked out its liver, which grows back every night.
Time passed, and on one occasion, Zeus offered to free Prometheus for a revelation of the prophecy that predicted his dethroning. But Prometheus refused his request.
Soon after, Hercules, the son of Zeus, was on his journey to fulfill his twelve labors. He passed Mount Caucasus and decided to kill the eagle and free the chained Prometheus.
Zeus was angry at first but eventually agreed to grant the Titan his freedom. As a reminder of his punishment forever, Zeus ordered Prometheus to make a steel ring he was in and wear it from then on.
Since then, to honor Prometheus, humans have started creating rings and wearing them to commemorate his help.
Story Analysis Of Prometheus and the Theft of Fire
The myth tells us that the mischievous Titan, Prometheus, was celebrated by the humans for bringing them fire but was punished by the god of all gods for doing so.
It was one of the greatest crimes ever made but it wasn’t the only time Prometheus tricked Zeus. Prometheus did what he had done because of his fondness for humans.
He endured the pain of being chained to a rock and eaten by an eagle daily because of his love for the mortals. And so, the mortals adored him for what he did and even made a ring to commemorate Prometheus.
Prometheus and the Theft of Fire Moral Lesson
- People will see your heart with compassion instead of condemnation.
- Prometheus was honored by humankind because of his kindness and compassionate nature. He tricked the gods into stealing and giving fire to humanity, so Zeus punished him.
- It is better to be loved than feared.
- Prometheus helped humankind by serving the ox’s finest meat to them and stealing the fire from the gods. He was fond of the mortals, so much so that he did those things. With it, he was adored and praised by them.
Prometheus and the Theft of Fire Summary
In the myth, Prometheus was the son of the Titan Iapetus and the Oceanid Clymene. He was the cousin of Zeus and brother of Epimetheus, Atlas, and Menoetius.
Prometheus was not involved in the Titanomachy, so Zeus saved him and gave him a mission of forming a man with water and earth.
On one occasion, Prometheus served up an ox’s bones wrapped in fat to the gods and the finest meat to the humans. Zeus grew angry with his cousin, so he denied man the power of fire.
He stole the eternal fire from Mount Olympus and gave it to humans. Zeus again punished humankind by sending plagues, and Prometheus was chained to a rock in Mount Caucasus with the eagle eating its liver, which grows back every night.
He was later saved by Hercules and was forgiven by Zeus. The humans honored him by making rings to remember his good deed.
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