History of Prometheus: The myth of the titan Prometheus, the friend of men

Greek mythology is very interesting, and for thousands of years it has been the object of study. One of the titans is Prometheus , well known for being the friend of mortals, and who is credited with the arrival of fire to humans. However, his good intention angered Zeus, who considered fire an exclusive good of the gods, and he punished Prometheus for all eternity.

Who was Prometheus?

Prometheus was son of Iapetus and Clímene , and brother of Epimetheus, Atlas and Menecio. He was not afraid of the gods, and he concocted a great deception against Zeus. After sacrificing an ox, he divided the piece into two parts. In one he put the entrails, the meat and the skin, which he hid inside the belly of the ox, and in the other he placed the bones covered with a very appetizing fat. He gave him a choice about which part the gods would eat, and Zeus chose the one with the fat layer, so he was enraged to discover that he had actually chosen the bones.

It was then that he decided to ban fire from men. But Prometheus was unwilling to accept it, so he climbed Mount Olympus and stole it from Helios’ chariot. Then he delivered the fire to men on the stem of a reed, in such a way that humanity could be heated and used to perform animal sacrifices.

Following this, Zeus planned revenge on Prometheus . He called on Hephaestus to chain him on top of a mountain where an eagle lived. The animal ate the titan’s liver but the latter, being immortal, regenerated the organ. This was the case for a long period of time, until Heracles killed the bird and released it.

As a token of gratitude, Prometheus told Heracles where he could get the golden apples of the Hesperides . Despite his release, the titan had to carry for all eternity with a ring attached to the rock where Hephaestus chained him by order of Zeus.

Greek mythology: fun facts

Finally, once we know the history of Prometheus, we want to point out a series of curious facts from Greek mythology .

Both the gods and demigods of Olympus that we know today were not the first. Before Hera and Zeus there were others like Gaia, Eros and Tartarus .

Ares was the god of war, but he did not have as much courage as was believed. It was thought that he was invincible, but the truth is that other gods like Athena and Apollo defeated him.