Prometheus was a Titan, the son of the Titan Iapetus and the Oceanid Clymene. In comparison with other Gods or Titans, he is the greatest benefactor of mankind. He literally created man, and gifted us with fire which allowed us to basically survive. Out of his brothers (Menoetius, Atlas, and Epimetheus) he was by far the most clever. Most of his brothers were sentenced to live in pain, Menoetius being sent to Tartarus by Zeus himself, and Atlas holding up the sky for eternity. Epimetheus and Prometheus were the two “peaceful” brothers of their kin. In the Titanomachy they fought for the Gods (mainly because Prometheus suspected that the Gods were to win) and were known to be one of few good Titans left. Epimetheus was infamously known to be the husband of Pandora, the stunningly beautiful mortal that was created by the Gods to give punishment to humankind for the regifting of fire from Prometheus. For Prometheus’s punishment, Zeus chained him to a rock and had a Eagle peck out his liver for eternity. To make it worse, the liver grew back every day, so that Prometheus would have to endure the pain throughout the next few years.
Prometheus is renowned to be the creator of mankind, and the greatest benefactor. In one version of Greek mythology, Prometheus had to steal fire from the Gods, which is definitely not a an easy thing to do. Next, Zeus decided that humans must sacrifice a portion of their meals daily to the Gods. Prometheus tricked Zeus into choosing which part of a bull would be sacrificed to the Gods. In one bowl there was tons of juicy fat, although inside there was all the unappealing parts of the bull to be sacrificed. In the other was the finest of meat hidden inside the hide of the bull. Zeus chose the fat right away, instead of thinking and being wary of Prometheus’s trickery. Zeus was enraged to find that inside of the fat was all the unappealing parts of the bull and decided to punish Prometheus and all of the human race. Prometheus was to be chained to a rock and get his liver eaten out by an eagle for eternity. Mankind would face Pandora and all of the evil spirits within her box. As mentioned above, Pandora was the beautiful wife of Epimetheus. She was given a box(or pithos) by the Gods, that was never to be opened. Unfortunately Pandora could not resist the temptation and opened up the box, releasing hunger, disease, death, etc. into the world, causing great pain for mankind. Once Pandora sealed her box once again, the only spirit that remained was hope. Later on Prometheus was freed by Hercules after Chiron the Centaur agreed to die instead of Prometheus.
I picked Prometheus as an example of a hero because he’s probably one of the most unlikely heroes if you look at his bloodline and his past. Prometheus was a Titan, regarded to be the archenemies of the Gods who were in charge of, well, everything back then. Most Titans would scheme to overthrow Olympus or try and gain power and cause immense wars, but Prometheus was different. Prometheus was kind and clever Titan. The main fact that really made him into a hero was all the selfless deeds he went through for mankind. He tricked the mightiest God, he stole fire from Olympus (or the sun, whichever version you’re looking at), and was willing to spend an eternity in pain for the survivability of mankind. The fact that a Titan, the one of the greediest, and selfish beings in the universe would go through so much trouble for some race that he made in his spare time amazes me and makes him the real hero. No other Titan, or probably any God, would have gone through so much to ensure that a few thousand humans could survive.
Prometheus is renowned to be the creator of mankind, and the greatest benefactor. In one version of Greek mythology, Prometheus had to steal fire from the Gods, which is definitely not a an easy thing to do. Next, Zeus decided that humans must sacrifice a portion of their meals daily to the Gods. Prometheus tricked Zeus into choosing which part of a bull would be sacrificed to the Gods. In one bowl there was tons of juicy fat, although inside there was all the unappealing parts of the bull to be sacrificed. In the other was the finest of meat hidden inside the hide of the bull. Zeus chose the fat right away, instead of thinking and being wary of Prometheus’s trickery. Zeus was enraged to find that inside of the fat was all the unappealing parts of the bull and decided to punish Prometheus and all of the human race. Prometheus was to be chained to a rock and get his liver eaten out by an eagle for eternity. Mankind would face Pandora and all of the evil spirits within her box. As mentioned above, Pandora was the beautiful wife of Epimetheus. She was given a box(or pithos) by the Gods, that was never to be opened. Unfortunately Pandora could not resist the temptation and opened up the box, releasing hunger, disease, death, etc. into the world, causing great pain for mankind. Once Pandora sealed her box once again, the only spirit that remained was hope. Later on Prometheus was freed by Hercules after Chiron the Centaur agreed to die instead of Prometheus.
I picked Prometheus as an example of a hero because he’s probably one of the most unlikely heroes if you look at his bloodline and his past. Prometheus was a Titan, regarded to be the archenemies of the Gods who were in charge of, well, everything back then. Most Titans would scheme to overthrow Olympus or try and gain power and cause immense wars, but Prometheus was different. Prometheus was kind and clever Titan. The main fact that really made him into a hero was all the selfless deeds he went through for mankind. He tricked the mightiest God, he stole fire from Olympus (or the sun, whichever version you’re looking at), and was willing to spend an eternity in pain for the survivability of mankind. The fact that a Titan, the one of the greediest, and selfish beings in the universe would go through so much trouble for some race that he made in his spare time amazes me and makes him the real hero. No other Titan, or probably any God, would have gone through so much to ensure that a few thousand humans could survive.
Bibliography
"Prometheus". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2015. Web. 26 Sep. 2015
<http://www.britannica.com/topic/Prometheus-Greek-god>.
"Prometheus (in Greek mythology)." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2015. Encyclopedia.com. 26 Sep. 2015 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.
"Creation of Man by Prometheus." Creation of Man by Prometheus. Web. 28 Sept. 2015. <http://www.greekmythology.com/Myths/The_Myths/Creation_of_Man_by_Prometheus/creation_of_man_by_prometheus.html>.
Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2015. Web. 26 Sep. 2015
<http://www.britannica.com/topic/Prometheus-Greek-god>.
"Prometheus (in Greek mythology)." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2015. Encyclopedia.com. 26 Sep. 2015 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.
"Creation of Man by Prometheus." Creation of Man by Prometheus. Web. 28 Sept. 2015. <http://www.greekmythology.com/Myths/The_Myths/Creation_of_Man_by_Prometheus/creation_of_man_by_prometheus.html>.