The Creation of Man by Prometheus
Posted on | December 8, 2008 |
According to Greek legends, when the Olympians were winning the battle against the ruling Titans, there were two Titans that did not fight: Prometheus (whose name means “forethought”) and Epimetheus (whose name means “afterthought”). Thus, when the Olympians won, Prometheus and Epimetheus were spared by Zeus and not banished to Tartarus, a gloomy abyss in the underworld. These two Titans were allowed to come and go as they pleased, but Zeus could always summon them to perform certain tasks. The most significant task of all was the creation of man.
Prometheus: the father of man?
There are numerous literary works that tell about Prometheus and his role in the creation of Man. The earliest one was Theogony, the 800 BC epic poem of Hesiod in which Prometheus was portrayed as a lowly Titan who tricked Zeus into giving man the gift of fire. The most extensive one was in the Protagoras dialogue in which Plato described how Zeus gave Prometheus and his brother Epimetheus the task of creating animals and humans. Apparently, Epimetheus used all attributes, such as wings, scales, and talons, on animals and had nothing left for man. Thus, Prometheus gave humans the appearance of the gods.
However, men did not have the powers that gods possessed. The only way to empower the mortals was to give them fire. Prometheus asked Zeus to give the men fire, but the Olympian god refused. Thus, one night when the gods were sleeping, Prometheus stole fire from Mount Olympus and brought fire to men. Prometheus’ motives for giving fire to men might have come from pity for the helpless mortals, but it could also stem from his anger at Zeus who exiled his family, the other Titans, to Tartarus. At the same time, Prometheus wanted to make sure that Zeus’ expected anger would be appeased. Thus, Prometheus instructed the mortals to regularly make animal sacrifices to Zeus.
Zeus’ punishment against Prometheus
The discovery of men using fire did not please Zeus, and Prometheus was sentenced to an eternal punishment. Prometheus would be chained to a rock, and an eagle swooped down to eat his liver during the day. At night, the liver would grow back, and the torture of having it eaten during the day was repeated. This punishment seems to exceed the gravity of Prometheus’ folly, especially when Prometheus fought against the other enemies of Zeus. But no one can really question nor challenge the wrath of gods.
The relationship between Prometheus and man
Two centuries later, another talented poet, Aeschylus, wrote a more engaging story about Prometheus and his relationship with man. In Prometheus Bound, Aeschylus reveals why Zeus gave such a harsh punishment for Prometheus. Aeschylus’ story revealed that Prometheus did not just steal fire. Prometheus enabled men to be independent and creative thinkers. He gave men the knowledge of mathematics, writing, agriculture, science, and medicine. This allowed men to survive, despite the illogical whims of gods. Zeus, like his father Cronus, had the propensity to destroy races of men. Before Prometheus intervened to help mankind, Zeus has previously destroyed five races of men. Thus, it was Prometheus’ kindness to men and rebellion against Zeus that prevented another complete destruction of a human race. Zeus’ power in destroying creatures on Earth was considerably reduced. And for this, Prometheus is punished.
The fate of Prometheus
Despite being bound to a rock by an unbreakable chain, Prometheus remained unrepentant for his actions. And despite being tortured every day by the liver-eating eagle, Prometheus never became helpless. In fact, Prometheus knew the downfall of Zeus. That is, he knew that one of Zeus’ sons would have enough strength, intelligence, and power to overthrow the king of the Olympians.
Zeus wanted to know which son was planning to usurp his power. Zeus offered to free Prometheus if he would simply reveal the name of the son. Prometheus refused, and this further infuriated Zeus. The Olympian god then declared that the only way to free Prometheus is to have another immortal die for him, while a mortal would need to kill the terrible eagle and break the chain (Fisher, 1984).
An immortal eventually died for Prometheus. The immortal was Chiron, a centaur. Centaurs are creatures that have the upper torso of a man and the body of a horse. Centaurs are usually savages, and because of their wild nature, they rushed to a jar of wine opened for Heracles, the exiled son of Zeus and Alcmene, a beautiful mortal woman. Heracles fought the centaurs, and in the process, accidentally wounded Chiron, who did not join in the fight.
However, Chiron was unlike other centaurs because he possessed wisdom and kindness. He taught Greek heroes such as Achilles. But the demigod Heracles wounded him. Since centaurs are immortal, Chiron faced an eternity of enduring excruciating pain. Thus, he and Heracles went to Caucasus, where Prometheus was bound. Chiron died for Prometheus, while Heracles killed the eagle and broke the chain (Ferguson, 2000). In the meantime, the sacrifices of men eventually appeased Zeus. Today, Prometheus is the icon for any rebellion against injustice.
References:
Aeschylus. (1961). “Prometheus Bound”. Prometheus Bound and Other Plays. (Philip Vellacott, Trans.) New York: Penguin Classics. (Original work published 400 B.C.)
Ferguson, Diana (2000). Greek Myths and Legends, Collins and Brown, New York, New York.Fisher, Leonard (1984). The Olympians, Great Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Greece, Holiday House, New York, New York.
Hesiod. Theogony. (1987). (Richard S Caldwell, Trans.) Newburyport, MA: Focus Publishing/R. Pullins Co. (Original work published about 800 B.C.)
Plato. Protagoras. (2006). (Adam Beresford, Trans.) New York: Penguin Classics. (Original work published about 420 B.C.)
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