Greek mythology. Prometheus. Why Prometheus stole fire and gave it to people

Prometheus fell in love with people, he began to try to make their lives easier.The Titan took away the gift of foresight from people, leaving it only to a select few; he began to teach people everything that he knew himself.Prometheus taught people to cultivate the land and grow bread, build houses and make useful things for the household, read and write, distinguish the seasons and treat diseases.Having taught people how to build ships, Prometheus showed them how wide the world is. Zeus did not know the secret of Prometheus.

The people created by Prometheus did not worship the Olympian gods, and Zeus, dissatisfied with this, decided to destroy them. Prometheus promised Zeus to teach people to worship the gods and make sacrifices to them.

Prometheus slaughtered the sacrificial bull in advance and divided it into two parts: he covered the meat with skin, and hid the bare bones under a layer of fat.

On the appointed day, the gods descended to earth and met with people in a large clearing. Prometheus invited Zeus to choose any part of the bull to sacrifice to the gods. Zeus chose the one that seemed fatter to him, and from then on people began to sacrifice fat and bones to the gods, and ate the meat themselves.

Zeus, seeing that he had been tricked, became angry and, in revenge, took away the fire from the people. Cold and hunger reigned on the earth.

Prometheus felt himself an involuntary culprit of the disaster that befell the humanity he created, and swore by the waters of the Styx, a river in the underground kingdom of the dead, that he would bring for people the unquenchable heavenly fire burning in the hearth of Zeus himself.

He turned to Athena, asking permission to visit the home of Zeus, supposedly in order to admire the amazing servants that the blacksmith god Hephaestus forged from gold for the Thunderer. Athena secretly led Prometheus to her father's house. Passing by the hearth, Prometheus thrust a stalk of reed (narfex) into the fire. . Its core caught fire, and Prometheus in a hollow stem brought divine fire to earth,showed people how to preserve it by sprinkling it with ash. This reed has an interior filled with white pulp that can burn like a wick.

Having learned about this, Zeus became more angry than before and came up with a new punishment for people. Zeus sent to earth a girl named Pandora (“gifted by all the gods”). Prometheus' brother Epimetheus fell in love with Pandora at first sight and married her.

Zeus gave Pandora a tightly closed box as her dowry, without telling her what was in it. The curious Pandora, as soon as she entered her husband's house, opened the lid, and human vices, illnesses and misfortunes scattered from the box all over the world. Epimetheus and Pandora had a daughter, Pyrrha, who eventually married Prometheus' son Deucalion.

Zeus again began to think about how to destroy humanity - and sent a flood to the earth. But the seer Prometheus warned his son about this, Deucalion built a ship and escaped with his wife. When the flood waters subsided, Deucalion and Pyrrha found themselves alone on deserted land. The ship took them to the temple of Themis, the mother of Prometheus. Themis appeared to Deucalion and Pyrrha and ordered them to pick up stones and throw them behind their backs. These stones turned into people: thrown by Deucalion into men, thrown by Pyrrha into women. Thus the human race was reborn.

Later, Deucalion and Pyrrha had a son, Hellenes, the ancestor of the Hellenic tribe, who founded Hellas, that is, Greece.

Zeus, seeing that he could not destroy the human race, brought down his anger on Prometheus. He called his faithful servants Kratos and Biya - Power and Strength, ordered them to take Prometheus to the very edge of the world, to wild Scythia, and there the blacksmith god Hephaestus chained him to a rock. Hephaestus was a friend of Prometheus, but did not dare to disobey Zeus.

Zeus condemned Prometheus to eternal chains, but Prometheus knew that the power of Zeus himself was not eternal. The Moirai, goddesses of fate, revealed to Prometheus that from his marriage with the nymph Thetis, Zeus would have a son who would be stronger than his father and would overthrow him from the throne. The Moirai also said that Zeus could avoid such a fate if Thetis married a mortal man. Then the son born by her will become the greatest hero, but will not compete with Zeus.

Years and centuries passed. The immortal titan Prometheus languished, chained to a rock. He was tormented by heat and cold, tormented by hunger and thirst.

Wanting to break Prometheus, Zeus subjected him to new torments: he plunged the immortal titan into Tartras, into impenetrable darkness, where the souls of the dead wander, and then raised him again to the surface of the earth, chained him to a rock in the Caucasus mountains and sent his sacred eagle bird to torment Prometheus. With its claws and beak, the terrible bird tore apart the titan's belly and pecked at his liver. The next day the wound healed, and the eagle flew again.

The echo carried the groans of Prometheus far away; they were echoed by mountains and seas, rivers and valleys.The oceanid nymphs cried out of pity for Prometheus, begging him to reconcile himself, reveal the secret to Zeus and thereby ease his torment. His brothers the Titans and his mother, the goddess Themis, asked Prometheus for the same thing. But he answered them all that he would reveal the secret only if Zeus admitted that he punished him innocently and restored justice.

These torments, according to various ancient sources, lasted from several centuries to 30 thousand years (according to Aeschylus).

And Zeus gave up. He sent his son Hercules to the Caucasus mountains. Hercules killed the eagle and broke the chains of Prometheus with his club. Prometheus kept one link of the chain with a fragment of a stone as a souvenir, and since then people, in order not to forget about the suffering that Prometheus endured for the human race, began to wear rings with stones.

The freed Prometheus revealed the secret to Zeus, and he, heeding the warning of the moiras, gave the nymph Thetis in marriage to King Peleus. From this marriage Achilles was born - the hero of the Trojan War.

Prometheus is one of the titans in Greek mythology, protector of people from the tyranny of the gods, king of the Scythians. Son of the Titan Iapetus and Clymene. Husband of Hesione, father of Deucalion. Brother of Atlas, Menoetius and Epimetheus. Zeus's cousin.
Prometheus deceived Zeus when the question of sacrifices arose in Mekon by butchering the carcass of a bull. Prometheus divided, putting edible meat in one pile, which he hid with the skin and covered with the foul-smelling stomach of the animal, and in another - bones covered with pieces of fat, and then offered to choose for himself. Zeus, he was deceived by choosing bones, which is why he took away fire from people. Prometheus stole fire from Hephaestus and gave it to people. For this, Zeus ordered Hephaestus (or Hermes) to chain Prometheus to a rock in the Caucasus Mountains (in Colchis) or in Scythia. Prometheus was doomed to incessant torment - a flying eagle pecked out his liver, which grew back, since he was immortal. Until Hercules killed the eagle and convinced Zeus to calm down his anger in gratitude to Prometheus for the indicated path to the Hesperides. When Zeus freed Prometheus, he bound one of his fingers with a stone from a rock and iron, and since then people have worn rings.
According to Hesiod, Prometheus sculpted people from the earth, and Athena gave them breath.

Complete version of the myth of Prometheus by Hesiod
In Hesiod, the myth about Prometheus is told as follows: people, at the inspiration of Prometheus, began not to give the gods their due share during sacrifices: they kept for themselves all the meat and all the edible entrails of the animal being sacrificed, and for the share of the gods they burned only the bones, wrapping them up for deception. their lard. Zeus took the fire from people for this and hid it in his own place. But Prometheus stole divine fire (either from the altar of Zeus, or from the chariot of the sun), hid it in a reed with a loose core and brought it to people. This crime was the beginning of sinfulness, which took root among people after that. According to the myth, both Prometheus and humans were punished. An angry Zeus ordered Hephaestus to make a girl of divine height and appearance from clay and gave her a voice. All the gods gifted her with everything, the most beautiful things they possessed, which is why she was called Pandora (gifted with all perfections). Athena taught her skillful needlework, Aphrodite gave her beauty, seductive languor, the ability to please, and Hermes put insinuation and cunning into her. The Harites and Horai beautifully dressed her with precious attire and the most beautiful flowers, so that she became delightful for both the gods and people. According to the myth, Hermes led her to the rash Epimetheus (“who understands a matter only after he has done it”), a titan and brother of Prometheus; he married her without listening to Prometheus' warnings. Her dowry was a tightly closed clay vessel, into which Zeus placed all the difficulties, disasters and illnesses of human life. When Pandora removed the lid, they flew out of the vessel, scattered across the land and sea, and have been tormenting people ever since. The only relief left for man was hope. We see from this myth that the Greeks considered the source of evil in human life not the very nature of man, but the enmity between two dynasties of gods. According to myth, Prometheus and Zeus were punished: he was chained to a pillar; The eagle ate his liver every day, which grew back at night. But later Hercules killed the eagle, freed Prometheus from his shackles and reconciled him with Zeus.

Greek myths were a form of education for younger generations and an attempt to explain the laws of the universe. The story of Prometheus gives a very interesting view of the ancient Greeks on the nature of women, and it is with this story that I open a new section on the site, which is called “women”.

The Myth of Prometheus

It all started a long time ago. First Chaos appeared, then Gaia - the deity of the earth, from her was born Uranus, the god of the sky. From Gaia and Uranus came the Cyclops, Hecatoncheires and Titans.

The titan Iapetus and his wife Clemene had four sons: Menoetius, Atlas, Epimetheus and Prometheus. The name Epimetheus means “one who first does and then thinks,” and Prometheus means “one who has the gift of foresight,” one who first of all thinks and then does.

Titanomachy - war of gods and titans

During Zeus's struggle for power, all the titans were against it, except one - Prometheus, who had the gift of foresight and knew that Zeus would be the winner in the war, so he sided with the thunderer and convinced Epimetheus to do the same. A protracted war began - the Titanomachy, in which, as Prometheus predicted, Zeus won.

The Creation of Man

A time of peace came, the Olympian gods sank more and more into boredom. Zeus turned to his son Hephaestus and ordered to create something to entertain the gods. Hephaestus thought for a long time and finally an idea was born. In the workshop, he knitted together the initial elements of the Universe and the gods created animals. Other creatures were made in the likeness of gods and their name was people, who would be exclusively male.

It remains to distribute the qualities between animals and people. The king of the gods ordered the titans Prometheus and Epimetheus to fulfill the order. Epimetheus asked his brother to give him this job. Prometheus, despite the gift of foresight, allows himself to be persuaded.

Epimetheus gets down to business: he awarded some animals with strength, others with speed, and others with stealth. He gave some warm fur to keep warm, others thick skin to protect themselves from predators. Having finished his work, Epimetheus distributed all the qualities to animals, and was so carried away that he completely forgot about people.

Then Prometheus came to Zeus with a request to give people something to protect them from animals, let the gods give people the Olympic flame. People extracted fire from the lightning of the thunder god; all that remained was to maintain it.

The golden age of humanity has arrived. People lived in peace and tranquility, no adversity, no wars, no natural disasters, no famine, wheat grew by itself and there was enough for everyone. People had the opportunity to feast with the gods. They did not die as in our days, when the time came, the god of sleep Hypnos took people to Elysium - the afterlife abode of the souls of the blessed.

Riot of Prometheus

The moment came when Zeus was tired of human society, he decided to determine a place for humanity in the existing world order, where the king is at the top, the rest of the gods are a step lower, and people are the lowest.

Zeus organized a feast and invited all the gods and people, ordering them to sacrifice a bull, dividing the carcass in half. The good half should go to the gods, the worst to people. All the deities agreed with the king, only Prometheus disagreed, he did not like such rules, he was outraged that people were deprived of all benefits, but it was Prometheus who received the order to divide the sacrificial bull and the Titan decided to boldly deceive the king of the gods.

Prometheus divided the bull's carcass in the following way: he put only the bones on one bowl, but covered them generously with fat, which gave a very attractive appearance. Prometheus covered the edible half with fragments of bones and offal, which made it very unsightly, and presented it to Zeus for his choice.

The Thunderer's choice fell on the attractive part, which was actually bones covered with fat. Having discovered Prometheus's deception, Zeus became furious. And even if the king of the gods was deceived by the cunning titan, his charges - people - will pay.

First, Zeus took bread from humanity. From now on, people will have to work to survive. Then he took away his main gift - fire, now it was impossible to protect himself from animals or light his way in the darkness.

Prometheus rushed to Athena, the daughter of Zeus, and asked to intercede for people who were being punished for something they did not do. Athena agrees to secretly let him into Olympus. He took coals from the sacred fire, hid them in a hollow fennel stalk and stole them.

Creation of the first woman

Prometheus challenged the king of the gods and will be punished. Zeus again turned to Hephaestus, who created men and ordered to make a woman who should look like a goddess. Let her be magnificent, have beauty and all possible external advantages.

Aphrodite endowed her with beauty and femininity, Athena gave her beautiful clothes, the Mountains - goddesses of the seasons, crowned her head with flowers, the Graces wrapped necklaces around her neck. Hermes, on the orders of Zeus, endowed her with intelligence, a deceitful domineering character, a sexual desire that cannot be satisfied, and most importantly, curiosity. This creature was given the name Pandora, which meant “gift of the gods.”

The beautiful creature is ready and Zeus breathes life into her. This is how Pandora appeared - the very first woman on Earth, the ancestor of all women. Pandora is a fire sent to people in return for what the king of the gods took away, which warms, but at the same time burns. The creation of Pandora is a punishment to humanity for the theft of the Olympic flame by Prometheus.

Now it was necessary to bring Pandora together with a man, but not with any man, but with the one who first acts and then thinks - with Epimetheus. Hermes came to him and brought him a wonderful gift - Pandora. Epimetheus was overcome by doubts, because his brother warned him not to take any gifts from Zeus, because Prometheus knows everything, he can foresee events, but the beauty of Pandora blinds Epimetheus and he accepts it.

Zeus gave Pandora a box. The gods filled it with all the troubles of the universe: pain, death, illnesses, disasters, wars... Zeus warned Pandora never to look into the box - an ideal solution for igniting female curiosity.

On the very first night, Pandora could not resist the temptation to find out what was inside the box. She lifted the lid, and at that very moment all the troubles that would torment the human race until the end of time burst out onto the Earth. Good and evil will now become integral components of the new world.

Punishment of Prometheus

Prometheus deceived Zeus several times. Pandora is the king of the gods' answer to deception. Behind her impeccable beauty, terrible troubles are hidden. From now on, humanity will continue to exist through the fertilization of a woman.


Zeus punished humanity, the time has come to punish their protector. He ordered Prometheus to be chained at the top of the Caucasus Mountains. Every day an eagle will fly and peck at Prometheus’s liver, every morning it will grow back, because titanium is immortal. But Prometheus did not ask for mercy, he kept a secret on which the future of Zeus depended. If the king of the gods wants to know her, he will have to give the titan freedom. So a thousand years passed.

Finally, Zeus yielded to Prometheus's patience and sent Hercules to the rescue. The freed titan kept his promise and said that if Zeus took the sea nymph Thetis as his wife, she would bear him a son who would overthrow his father. The Thunderer immediately put an end to this love affair and ordered Thetis to unite with a mortal, from whom she would in the future give birth to the great hero Achilles.

This is how the ancient Greeks saw the source of the origin of female nature and raised their sons on these stories. Young (and not so young) people of modern times are brought up mostly by their mothers and snotty Hollywood melodramas, which are very far from reality.

The ancients considered a woman the source of all problems of humanity; in the modern world, the female image, on the contrary, is exalted to the level of an innocent, infallible, defenseless angel. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle, but if you are still in the clouds, I advise you to listen to the experience of distant ancestors, otherwise the heiress of Pandora will open her box especially for you. Good luck.

Golden, Silver and Copper Ages. Having first created the world, then the immortal gods of people created and inhabited it. Happy was the human race; it lived in a golden age. Everything on earth grew in abundance, and there was no need to cultivate fields and gardens. People spent their lives carefree, not knowing illness or sorrow. During that golden time, the gods themselves often came to visit people: either to consult, or to have fun at a friendly feast. But the golden age ended, people died; The gods turned them into good spirits who give good luck and protect justice.

The second kind of people were no longer so happy - the Silver Age came. People have less strength and less wisdom; They lived to be a hundred years old, but saw a lot of grief and misfortune. They earned food by the sweat of their brow. They did not bring gifts to the immortal gods and did not obey their will. Zeus was angry and sent everyone to the dark kingdom of Hades. There they live, knowing neither joy nor sorrow.

They were replaced by people of the Copper Age. Above all else in life they loved war, did not know agriculture, did not eat fruits or bread, only meat. Zeus gave them enormous height and indestructible strength: their hearts were indomitable and their hands invincible. Their weapons were of brass, and their houses were of brass. In continuous wars they destroyed each other.

Zeus and King Lycaon. Zeus was also angry with the people of the Copper Age, and King Lycaon made him especially angry. One day Zeus appeared in his country in the guise of a mere mortal. True, he showed signs of divinity to the inhabitants; they fell prostrate before him. Lycaon not only did not give honor to Zeus, but also laughed at everyone who did. Lycaon decided to feed the traveler human meat: if he is Zeus, then, of course, he will guess what he will be treated to. The father of gods and men was angry at the behavior of the wicked king, incinerated his palace with lightning, and turned him into a bloodthirsty wolf.

Flood. Deucalion and Pyrrha. The people of the Copper Age infuriated Zeus so much that he decided to destroy every single one of them. “Let a terrible rain fall on the earth and drown them,” he decided. And the human race would have perished forever, but a titan named Prometheus found out about the plans of Zeus; it was not for nothing that his name meant “Prudent.” He realized that it would be bad in a world without people, and decided to stop Zeus. Prometheus told his son Deucalion, who was a man, about the intentions of God. On the advice of his father, Deucalion put together a huge box, carried supplies into it, and then climbed into it himself along with his wife Pyrrha.

And then a downpour poured onto the earth: streams of rain fell day and night, the cities with all the houses and temples disappeared under the water, the high mountains and dense forests disappeared. Where fields used to be green, now schools of fish swam, where forests grew, dolphins frolicked. For nine days and nights the box with Deucalion and Pyrrha floated across the waves, and when the rain stopped, it washed up on the top of Mount Parnassus, which rose above the water.

The emergence of a generation of heroes. When the water subsided, Deucalion and Pyrrha climbed out of the box. The land was empty and silent after the flood. Suddenly the messenger of the gods, Hermes, appeared to Deucalion and said: “The great Zeus knows your piety and therefore grants you and your wife the happiness of starting a new human race. To do this, you must throw the bones of your foremother over your head.” Deucalion was saddened: where to find the bones now, how to fulfill the will of the gods? But he guessed: the common ancestor of all living things is the earth, and its bones are stones! He and Pyrrha picked up stones and began throwing them over their heads; From the stones thrown by Deucalion, men emerged, and by Pyrrha, women. This is how new people appeared - a generation of heroes. They were courageous, like the people of the Copper Age, but more pious, noble and fair. Soon the land was inhabited again.

Prometheus and people. At first, people did not know how to resist the formidable forces of nature, did not know how to protect themselves from predators, and were afraid to sail on a stormy sea. Prometheus decided to come to their aid: he introduced people to metals and revealed the secret of their extraction and processing, subdued a wild bull and put a yoke on him so that he would pull a plow and carry loads, built the first ship that carried man into the vast expanses of the sea, taught him to recognize herbs and prepare medicines. Prometheus gave many gifts to people.

But Zeus did not want people to be powerful and independent, he was afraid that they would stop bringing gifts to the Olympian gods. And then Prometheus led him through. One day a dispute arose about which parts of a bull's carcass people should sacrifice to the gods. Prometheus was asked to judge. He cut up the bull carcass and put it in two bags: in one - all the pulp, covering it with tripe on top, in the other - the bones, hiding them under a thick layer of fat. Zeus was tempted by fat and chose the second bag. And when he realized that Prometheus had deceived him, he became furious. “So let people eat meat raw!” - he exclaimed and deprived them of the fire. This punishment was terrible; many began to die from the cold.

Prometheus steals fire

Prometheus brings fire to people. Prometheus could not calmly watch people suffer, and decided to give them fire against the will of Zeus. He once appeared on Olympus, leaning on a traveling staff. No one paid attention to this staff, and in vain: it was empty from the inside. Prometheus quietly placed coals from the divine hearth into it and carried it to the ground. People had fire again! They ceased to be afraid of darkness and cold, firewood crackled cheerfully in the hearths of their houses, and shepherd's fires were lit in the mountains. Zeus realized that Prometheus had outwitted him again.

Pandora. But Zeus was not the type to admit defeat. He conceived a new disaster for people. Zeus called the artist Hephaestus, ordered him to mix earth and water and make a girl from this mixture, and one so that she would not be inferior to the goddesses in beauty and charm. The clothes for the girl were woven by Pallas Athena herself; Aphrodite gave her irresistible charm, and Hermes gave her a cunning mind, resourcefulness and deceitful speech. They named her Pandora, that is, “Endowed with all gifts”: after all, she received something as a gift from each of the gods and goddesses.

Pandora's Vessel. They brought the beautiful Pandora to the house of Epimetheus, the brother of Prometheus. He was simple-minded and trusting. The wise Prometheus told him more than once: “Do not take gifts from Zeus, he does not love us, his gifts are destructive!” Epimetheus promised his brother that he would flatly refuse any gift from Zeus. But when he saw Pandora, he forgot his vows and thought: “What danger can a woman conceal within herself, even if Zeus gives her? My brother is too careful! I will take the beautiful Pandora as my wife.” And he made her the mistress of his house. In the house of Epimetheus there was a small room in which there was a sealed vessel. Prometheus brought it and strictly forbade his brother to open it. Pandora also knew about the ban, and her curiosity tormented her. “Prometheus must be hiding his treasures in our house. How can I look at them?” - thought Pandora. One day, when Epimetheus was not at home, she sneaked into a mysterious room, went up to the vessel, and opened the lid. And... Care, Adversity, Sorrow, Grief, Disease, Hunger, driven there by Prometheus, flew out of the vessel. They took off and scattered all over the earth. Prometheus wanted to save people from them, but it didn’t work out, Pandora’s curiosity got in the way.

Zeus punishes Prometheus. Epimetheus’s gullibility had a cruel effect on people. But Zeus could not forgive Prometheus for trying to protect people from harm. God decided to punish the obstinate titan in such a way that everyone would understand how dangerous it is to measure strength with the Thunderer, and would be careful not to contradict him. Zeus called his servants, Power and Strength, and ordered them to take Prometheus to wild places - to the ends of the earth, where no man had gone before.

The snowy peaks rose impregnably there, at their feet the sea foamed and rumbled. It was there that Zeus ordered Prometheus to be chained to the top of a rock with indestructible chains. Hephaestus, obeying the order of the Father of the gods, chained Prometheus in heavy chains. And he would like to ease the suffering of Prometheus, but he could not: Power and Strength were vigilantly watching everything. And now Prometheus’s arms and legs are pulled by chains to the stone, and a sharp steel wedge is driven into his chest; The rebellious titan is nailed to the rock forever!

Curses to Zeus and his dangers. Suffering did not break the greatness and pride of Prometheus. He did not repent of any of his actions and, although people could not alleviate his suffering, he believed that his good deeds would not be forgotten. From a high cliff, the chained Prometheus sent curses to Zeus, his cruelty and injustice: “Your kingdom will not last forever, arrogant thunderer! - he exclaimed one day. - I know the secret of the future, I know your fate, I know how you can avoid it - but I won’t tell you! No amount of torment will wrest the secret from me!”

Zeus was afraid; He sent Hermes to find out the secret from Prometheus. Not so! “I will not exchange my torment for slavish service to your Zeus! - Prometheus answered proudly. “There is no such execution, no such torment with which he could frighten me!” “Well, this is what awaits you, impudent one,” exclaimed Hermes. - With a lightning strike, Zeus will throw you and the rock into the dark abyss. You will spend many centuries without sunlight in a stone prison, and when Zeus raises you to the light again, you will not be happy about it either! Every day an eagle will peck out your liver, and every night it will grow back for new torment. And you will be tormented for many centuries!”

The suffering of Prometheus. Nothing could frighten the heart of the proud titan; he remained adamant. And then everything happened as Hermes promised: in the roar of the storm, the roar of the earthquake and the flash of lightning, the rock collapsed along with Prometheus into a terrible abyss, into terrible darkness. After many, many centuries, Zeus raised her to the ground, bringing new torment to the titan. The eagle that tormented his body every day was terrible! But suffering did not break Prometheus!

One day, Hercules found himself in the places where Prometheus was chained. He looked with horror at the torment of Prometheus, and compassion grew hour by hour in his soul. When the fat eagle flew in to prolong its bloody feast, Hercules did not let him get closer to the titan. He pulled his tight bow and shot a deadly arrow. She pierced the eagle, and it fell into the stormy sea at the very foot of the rocks.

The Mystery of Prometheus and His Liberation. And soon Hermes rushed from Olympus and said: “You see, Prometheus, I’m here again; Zeus is forgiving and ready to reconcile with you and put an end to all torment if you reveal the secret to him.” - "Fine! - Prometheus answered. “You speak to me kindly, and therefore I will reveal what no torment has wrested from me.” Let the Thunderer not marry Thetis, daughter of the gray Ocean. She will have a son who will surpass his father in strength, no matter who he is. We must give Thetis in marriage to a mortal man, and then a great hero will be born to her!”

Zeus was pleased. He finally learned a terrible secret; nothing else threatened his power. Hercules broke the shackles of Prometheus with his club and tore out the sharp wedge with which the titan was nailed to the rock. But Zeus commanded that Prometheus always wear a ring on his hand, into which was inserted a piece of the rock at which he suffered unspeakable torment for so many centuries.

Some say that Prometheus molded people from earth and water in the image of the gods, and Athena breathed life into them.
Others claim that people and animals were created by the gods from a mixture of fire and earth, and the gods tasked Prometheus and his brother Epimetheus with distributing abilities between them. The improvident Epimetheus generously endowed animals with abilities, leaving people defenseless.
It turned out that the animals were carefully provided with everything necessary for survival, and man was “naked and barefoot, without a bed and without weapons.” In addition, Zeus decided to starve humanity, forcing the best part of the food to be sacrificed to the gods. However, Prometheus managed to outwit him.
When the question was being decided which part of the bull should be sacrificed to the gods and which part should be left to people, Prometheus tore the skin from the bull and sewed two bags from it. Having cut up the carcass, he put all the flesh in one bag, covering it with tripe on top - the least tempting part of any animal, and in the second he put all the bones, hiding them under a thick layer of fat. Zeus, to whom Prometheus offered to choose a bag, succumbed to deception and took a bag of bones and fat, which have since been considered to belong to the gods. Having discovered Prometheus’ cunning, Zeus decided to teach him a lesson by depriving people of fire and forcing them to “eat their flesh as raw materials.”

Then Prometheus stole the fire (according to one version, he took it from the forge of Hephaestus, according to another, with the help of Athena, he rose from the back entrance to Olympus, lit a torch from the fiery solar chariot) and gave it to people.

In addition, he taught people to build houses, ships, engage in crafts, wear clothes, read, write and count, distinguish between the seasons, make sacrifices to the gods and tell fortunes. But at the same time, he deprived them of knowledge of the future (which they previously possessed), so as not to break their hearts.
At night, Zeus saw from Olympus myriads of fires flickering on the ground and became furious. At his command, Prometheus was chained to the Caucasus Mountains. Every day an eagle vulture flew to him and tormented his liver, which grew back by the next day.

To punish people for Prometheus’s theft of fire, Hermes, at the behest of Zeus, sculpted a woman, Pandora, from clay, making her stupid, evil, lazy, cunning and deceitful.

Athena breathed life into Pandora, after which Aphrodite endowed her with irresistible charm.

Accompanied by Hermes, the Thunderer sent Pandora to the Titan Epimetheus, who was immediately captivated by her beauty and took her as his wife.

In the house of Epimytheus there was kept a vessel left to him for safekeeping by Prometheus, his brother, in which Prometheus had previously, with great difficulty, contained all the adversities that plagued humanity: old age, birth pangs, illness, madness, vice and passion. One day, Pandora, unable to resist natural female curiosity (this is what Zeus was counting on), opened the vessel. Instantly, thousands of troubles flew out of him and began to sting Pandora and Epimetheus, and then attacked mortals. The pipe dream, which Prometheus also hid in a vessel, prevented people from committing suicide.

There are those who claim that the vessel that belonged to Prometheus contained all the good gifts with which he intended to make humanity happy. When Pandora opened the lid, they scattered, never to return, and only a lingering hope remained at the bottom.