Long ago, in a time of gods and heroes, there lived a Titan, and his name was Prometheus.
For a time, the Titans ruled the earth, sky, sea and underworld. The most powerful was Kronos – a Titan with control over time…and an alarming habit of eating his children to ensure they could never usurp him. As one can imagine, his wife and mother of the children, Rhea (also his sister because that’s how ancient beings roll) grew tired of birthing children only to lose them to her husband’s fear and pride. And so, when her sixth child was born, her third son, she hid him away, concealed from his father, to grow strong and one day avenge his brothers and sisters. Avenge them he did. For this sixth child was no other than Zeus, the mighty, with power over storms and sky, wielding thunder and lightning bolts to free his siblings from their father. Together, these new gods battled the Titans in a bloody, violent and destructive conflict spanning ten years. Later known as the Titanomachy, this war reshaped the entirety of creation and ended with the crowning of a new order – the Olympian Gods.
Where was Prometheus in this great clash of power? Prometheus had many gifts – charm, beauty, strength and, most importantly, the gift of foresight. Able to see that Zeus and the new gods would triumph, Prometheus chose his side and fought against his fellow Titans. As a reward for his loyalty, he was favoured with Zeus’ companionship. And thus began a beautiful and long lasting bro-mance. Of all the beings alive – his fellow gods, giants, cyclopes, nymphs and more, Zeus loved Prometheus best. The pair would ramble across the world together, talking and laughing, about everything and nothing. When Zeus’ head ached and nothing could alleviate his suffering, it was Prometheus who guided him to remove his hands, kneel down and have Hephaestus split his skull, birthing Athena into the world. When Zeus grew bored, it was the company of Prometheus that he sought. Theirs was truly a close friendship.
One day, Zeus was flying over the world in the form of an eagle when he began to notice the aftermath of his great war. He was a king, he sat on a great throne and had first place amongst all the gods and yet, something was missing. The world, as a whole, was empty. Zeus sought Prometheus, and proposed an idea. Prometheus would aid him in the creation of a new race, a new species! Made in the image of the gods, of the great Zeus himself, but smaller, less powerful – semi-intelligent and ready to praise Zeus, an adoring race of miniatures for the gods to play with, a special kind of pet.
Prometheus was intrigued – what an idea! What a challenge! Off they set, across the world to find the best materials with which to make the new species – Prometheus searched carefully until he found the perfect spot to begin his artistry. With much time and labour, he put his heart and soul into the creation of tiny beings, fashioning them from four elements: Gaia’s clay (earth), the spittle of Zeus (water), the sun of Apollo (fire) and the breath of Athena (air). And when he was done, he proudly presented them to Zeus who gave the new race the name Anthropos or “man.” However, whilst Zeus viewed himself as their god and superior, Prometheus saw them as his friends and companions. With intense feelings of love and pride, he declared his intentions to teach them to farm, to cook, to hunt, to build…Zeus’ sudden roar filled the sky. ‘They shall not have fire’ was his decree – there will be no innovation, no invention, no advancement so they could never rise to challenge the gods. (Zeus clearly inherited some personality traits from his father.) And so the human race came to be.
While Prometheus had been engaged in making man, his brother Epimetheus had been pursuing his own creative endeavours, making the animal kingdom. It saddened Prometheus over time as he watched the way his creation suffered by comparison. Animals had sharp teeth and claws to hunt and defend, thick furs to warm themselves in winter, superior senses of sight, smell and hearing. His humans were happy enough but there was no zest to their life, no challenge, no greatness. “They need fire,” he thought, “real fire so they can melt, smelt, roast, boil, fashion and forge, but also so they can think, imagine, dare and create.” And thus began the end of his friendship with Zeus.
The ending of this tale becomes quite sad – Prometheus did gift humans with fire. He stole the fire of the sun itself and bestowed it upon his creations. And humans did advance, just as Prometheus hoped and Zeus feared. But Zeus is not one to accept disobedience, nor forgive a betrayal. To punish humans he had Pandora made, along with a special jar. For Prometheus, his punishment was severe – bound and chained to a rock for eternity, cursed to have a vulture peck out and eat his liver, day after day after day.
Prometheus, mankind’s friend and champion, taught us, stole for us and sacrificed himself for us. We all possess our share of Promethean fire – originality, creativity, innovation and artistry.
But there is a glimmer of hope at the end of this story…for one day, a hero will be born. A hero who will be strong and powerful, who will challenge Zeus and set humanity’s champion free, a hero named Heracles…but that’s a story for another time.
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