Prometheus Research Paper

Among the many Greek gods, there is the story of Prometheus and Pandora. This particular myth is about the creation of man and how the evils of the world came to be. Prometheus and Epimetheus are brothers, Prometheus being bright and Epimetheus being foolish. Prometheus is the god that goes on a dangerous quest and endures suffering for the betterment of man, namely to bring fire to man.

The story starts with Gaia, the goddess who marries the sky and creates the world, bringing forth animals and six sons and six daughters. These six children were called the Titans, and they were the parents to the Greek gods we are familiar with today. The ruler of the Titans, Cronus, ate his children because of a prophecy declaring that one of his children

would end his reign by killing him. His wife, Rhea, hid the sixth child and replaced Cronus’ meal with a swaddled rock. This baby she saved and hid from Cronus was named Zeus, and when he grew older, Zeus poisoned his father, which made Cronus regurgitate all of the babies. But no longer were they babies, as they had grown into adults. With the combined power of all six offspring, they were able to overpower their father and decapitate him. Zeus was then declared leader, and he banished his fathers siblings, the Titans to the outskirts of the Earth. He declared Atlas, the burliest of the Titans, to hold up the sky forever. The new gods then resided atop Mount Olympus, and Zeus watched the Earth to look for the return of the Titans. When Zeus learned that they were befriending the humans, a new species which he did not trust, Zeus was deeply displeased.
The origins of men are split; some people say Mother Earth made men spring from the soil and rocks.

Others say a Titan named Prometheus shaped man from clay. Prometheus made many things; he was a clever Titan who taught man many skills as they had no knowledge. After humans and animals were created, Mother Earth gave Prometheus an immense basket filled with gifts to distribute to all the animals, including humans. Prometheus’ brother Epimetheus saw how daunting a task it was to give all species a special gift, so he asked if he could help. Epimetheus was not as responsible as Prometheus, and was most likely going to muddle the job. Although Prometheus knew Epimetheus was foolish, he eventually gave in to his pleading and allowed him to disperse the gifts. When Prometheus returned, his basket of gifts was empty. Epimetheus was proud of himself, saying there was just enough to go around. Prometheus asked what he gave to the humans, to which Epimetheus replied, saying they escaped his mind when he was gifting the animals. Prometheus did not approve. He was irate and furious, but with himself mostly for letting Epimetheus distribute the gifts. Prometheus decided to gift man with fire from Hephaestus’ forge on Mount Olympus. To do this he needed to steal the

fire.
Prometheus snuck up to the forge and smuggled a kindle of flame down to man. With the fire, humans were warm and they could shape metals and make tools. When Zeus found out that Prometheus had stolen this flame, he was livid with rage. Zeus did not necessarily like the humans because he thought they were in alliance with the Titans against Zeus and the other gods on Mount Olympus. Zeus had Prometheus chained up to a rock and commanded a bird come eat his liver daily. This was possible because Zeus cursed Prometheus to have a new liver grow back every day. But Zeus did not stop there; he instructed Hephaestus to craft a woman, an evil which would balance the good of the flame.
Zeus said to his fellow gods, “Man is lonely in the world, so I have made a companion for them-woman.” He named her Pandora which means “all gifts.” All the gods gave Pandora a gift(Athena taught her to weave, Aphrodite added beauty, and Hermes taught her how to be a deceitful liar). Pandora was given another gift from Zeus, a box which contained all the evils known to the world. She was not told what was inside the box, but she was told to never open it. Zeus knew she would, that was his plan all along. To add to his damage, Zeus introduces Pandora to Epimetheus. Almost instantly after he saw the radiant Pandora, Epimetheus fell in love with her and swiftly married her. Epimetheus and Pandora were happy, but eventually Pandora’s human curiosity consumed her, and she opened the box like Zeus predicted. Before the box was opened, the newly created Earth was free of all evils, but when Pandora released the contents of the box, dark beings escaped, like greed, war, and famine. The only thing that was not released before Pandora slammed the lid on the box was hope. This symbolism shows that although there are many evils in the world, man and woman still have hope to hold on to.
In all mythological tales, there is an underlying code which defines the hero exhibit. In Peter R. Stillman’s Introduction to Myth, he describes aspects portrayed by the heroes in a story to help the reader identify the hero, or protagonist. In the myth Prometheus and Pandora, the main protagonist is Prometheus, who even though tortured indirectly by Zeus, he does not lash back at Zeus, but only waits patiently for freedom, which later comes from Hercules, who kills the bird and frees Prometheus. The danger Prometheus experiences stealing the fire and the suffering he endures with his livers being devoured daily is evidence of his hero status, according to the code. While Prometheus is not immortal, his liver was made new each day while he was being punished in chained captivity. He is not entirely invincible because the one spot on his body regrows indefinitely, but he does feel pain when the bird devours his interior. Prometheus’ theft of the fire may not have been the noblest thing in the eyes of Zeus, but he chose to follow through for the good of humanity. The hero of this intriguing story is the one who created man, helped man, and is tortured for the betterment of man. Prometheus truly gave all for his creation, and he showed he undoubtedly cares for them.