Prometheus (deity)

Culture: Greco-Roman

Mother: Clymene

Father: Iapetus

Siblings: Epimetheus; Atlas; Menoetius

Children: Deucalion

Prometheus was a Titan and the god of fire in Greek mythology. Titans ruled the heavens before Zeus and his allies defeated them. Because Prometheus sided with Zeus, he was not banished or destroyed like the other Titans after the battle.

Prometheus’s name means "forethought," and he was known as a trickster. He stole fire from the gods and gave it to humans. Zeus punished both the mortal humans and the immortal Prometheus for this treachery. Humans were sent diseases and death, and Prometheus was bound to a rock where an eagle ate his liver every day. He was often depicted in art with a flaming torch, with an eagle eating his liver, or with Herakles (sometimes spelled Heracles or Hercules) freeing him.

In Mythology

Prometheus was the son of the Titan Iapetus and an Oceanid, or water nymph, named Clymene. Some myths say his mother was Themis, a goddess of wisdom, or Gaia, which is another name for Earth.

Zeus, the supreme god, asked Prometheus and his brother, Epimetheus, to create humans and animals. Epimetheus created animals and gave them many gifts, such as speed and strength. Prometheus created humans from clay and gave them knowledge of the arts and sciences. He also gave them the gift of fire so that they would survive. He showed them how to use fire to work with metal and, because he had done this, Prometheus was sometimes identified with Hephaestus, the god of the forge or the blacksmith god.

The traditional myth says that the gods met at Mecone to decide what kind of sacrifice, or offering, humankind should make to the gods. Prometheus, as the champion of humans, wanted them to have the best portion of the sacrifice. Prometheus slaughtered an ox and hid all the good meat under the disgusting stomach. He then covered the bones with delicious fat and asked Zeus to choose the portion he wanted as an offering. Zeus chose the pile of bones, which looked more appetizing than the stomach. Prometheus had tricked Zeus so that the god had chosen that portion that would be bones and fat rather than meat. Human beings, as a result, would get to keep the meat for themselves.

Zeus was so angered by this trick that he took fire away from humanity, saying that the mortals must eat their meat raw. However, Prometheus stole a bit of fire from the gods. He hid it inside a fennel stalk and returned it to the humans. Zeus punished Prometheus by having him chained to a rock. Then Zeus sent an eagle to eat the Titan’s liver. Because Prometheus was immortal, his liver grew back every night, but the eagle returned day after day to eat it once again. Prometheus suffered greatly for many years until the hero Herakles killed the eagle with an arrow.

In another version of the Prometheus myth, the Titan heard a prophecy while he was chained to the rock. The prophecy said that the water nymph Thetis would bear a child who would become more powerful than his father. At that time, Zeus was hoping to wed Thetis. When Prometheus told Zeus about the prophecy, Zeus gave up the idea of marrying Thetis. He did not want a son who might overthrow him. He was so grateful for the warning that he freed Prometheus from the rock. However, Zeus had sworn to keep Prometheus bound, so he bound a strip of stone and iron around the Titan’s finger.

Zeus also punished humans for the theft of fire. He created a beautiful woman named Pandora and sent her to Prometheus’s brother, Epimetheus. Prometheus warned Epimetheus not to marry her, but Epimetheus, whose name means "afterthought," ignored him. After their marriage, Pandora opened a jar and evils flew out into the world. She quickly shut the lid, but it was too late. Death, disease, and war had already escaped. In some versions of the story, hope escaped as well; in other versions, Pandora shut the lid before hope escaped. Some myths say that Prometheus’s son, Deucalion, founded a new race of humans. Prometheus knew that Zeus was planning to send a great flood across the land, so Prometheus told Deucalion to build an ark and stock it with provisions. Deucalion and his wife, Pyrrha, survived the flood on their ship. Others survived in the tallest mountains. Later Deucalion founded cities and ruled as king.

Origins and Cults

Prometheus was mostly worshipped in the city of Athens. During festivals in his honor, men carrying torches raced to the altar. The torches symbolized the fennel stalk with fire hidden in it that Prometheus had used to steal fire for humankind. The winner of the race was the one who could reach the altar first with a still-burning torch.

It is said that people began wearing rings to commemorate the stone and iron that Zeus placed on Prometheus’s finger. Prometheus was also said to have worn a wreath to celebrate his victories. So those who were victorious began wearing wreaths to show their triumph. The wreaths were sometimes believed to symbolize Prometheus’s chains.

Prometheus’s liver was constantly eaten by an eagle until the eagle was killed by Herakles. In remembrance of this myth, Greeks placed the livers of their sacrifices on the altar of the gods to take the place of Prometheus’s liver. It was hoped that this gesture would keep the gods happy and keep misfortune away.

Myths about Prometheus were told by the Greek poet Hesiod, and the Greek dramatist Aeschylus wrote about him in Prometheus Unbound. The Prometheus myths inspired many later writers, including Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Percy Byron Shelley. Musical composers such as Ludwig van Beethoven and Franz Liszt produced works based on the myth.

Prometheus has been depicted in pottery, paintings, and sculpture. The earliest known pottery with his image is from about 600 BCE. The Flemish painter Peter Paul Rubens completed Prometheus Bound in 1618. It shows the eagle, painted by wildlife expert Frans Snyders, eating Prometheus’s liver. Rubens considered it to be one of his most important works. A famous 1934 bronze sculpture of Prometheus by Paul Manship resides in Rockefeller Center in New York City.

Bibliography

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