http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prometheus
I am a bit of an expert in Greek Mythology, as I have researched (and continue to research) the subject in depth. I do so because I find it very intriguing, and one of my favorite figures/stories from Greek Mythology is the story of the "kindly" Titan, Prometheus.
Wikipedia has a page on Prometheus to no great surprise, but it leaves a bit to be desired in the category of details. They simply include that Prometheus created man from clay, gave them fire he had stolen from Mount Olympus (from the Olympian gods), and was punished by Zeus by being chained to a rock with an eagle coming and tearing out/eating his liver every day. However, if proper details (according to the ancient Greek myths) are included, that is only some of the highlights of the story.
According to the Greek legends, during the "Titanomachy", or the Olympian god vs Titan war, Prometheus (also called the Titan of Forsight and the wisest of the Titans) chose to fight alongside the god Zeus and his siblings rather than fight with his fellow Titans, as he could forsee the outcome of the battle with the king of the Titans, Kronos' (also spelled Cronus) defeat. Prometheus also convinced his younger brother Epithemus (whose name means afterthought and was the most dim-witted of the Titans) to side with him and the gods. As many can guess, the Olympians won and the "Golden Age of the Titans" ended with the defeat and imprisonment in Tartarus of most of the Titans including Kronos.
Afterward, the Olympian gods ruled over the earth with Zeus as their king. During this time, Prometheus and his brother were charged with creating subjects for the gods; mortals to rule over. Wikipedia does indeed include this, but they leave out the fact that there was a caring for them from the Titan brothers. They created the mortals by fashioning man out of clay and having life breathed into them by Athena, goddess of wisdom and war. Prometheus cared deeply about his creations and was saddened by the fact that they were miserable on earth, with no means of effective hunting, seeing in the dark, or dealing with disease.
So, to help them, he stole fire from Mount Olympus and gave it to mankind, as Wikipedia does mention. Zeus, upoun seeing this, was angered and took the fire away from mankind, saying that they "were not ready" for it's power. He then forbade Prometheus from attempting to do so again. Prometheus again watched his children suffer and die, so he snuck back to Olympus in the dead of night and took fire from the chariot of Helios (the sun god) in a giant fennel-stalk and gave it back to mankind. Wikipedia also mentions Prometheus stelaing it back, and the use of the fennel-stalk, but not that the fire was from the sun and thusly would continue to burn, thus preventing Zeus from taking it away again.
Zeus saw this and was angered. He decided to destroy mankind, but Prometheus intervened. Wikipedia and other sources agree that Prometheus convinced Zeus that he should let mankind live if they offered the gods sacrifices. Zeus agreed and told Prometheus to prepare the sacrifice. Prometheus then slaughtered a great ox and, splitting it's remains in two, placed the halves on two seperate altars. One altar had the bones of the ox with it's glistening fat covering them. The other had all of the good meat, hidden under/within the ox's smelly stomach.
When Zeus appeard to see his offering, Prometheus offered him his pick of the two. What Wikipedia leaves out here is that Zeus was tricked. He only saw the disgusting stomach and the glistening white fat. So he chose the latter, thinking it amusing that Prometheus "left out" the meat mankind ate to survive. But when Prometheus releaved that Zeus had taken only the bones and fat, leaving mankind the good meat, Zeus was furious.
What Wikipedia leaves out of Zeus' wrath is that he first punished Prometheus by having Hephaestus, the god of blacksmiths and fire, chain Prometheus to a great rock where he would spend eternity until the earth ended and all of the earth crumbled into Tartarus. And, seeing as Prometheus was immortal, Zeus then decried that when the world had ended and been reborn, Prometheus was to be (as Wikipedia does mention) chained back to the rock. Zeus then ordered Hephaestus to make a great eagle of bronze to come to the rock every day and eat the poor Titan's liver knowing that, since Prometheus was immortal, it would grow back every night so that the bird could return again every day.
Eventually, as Wikipedia and the legends all agree, the Greek hero Heracles (Hercules in the Roman translation) came to Prometheus and, seeing the punishment the Titan bore, felt it was unjust and freed the Titan, killing the bird and breaking the chains with his added immense strength.
Over all, Wikipedia did an alright job of re-telling the ancient story, but it could certainly have used more detail. This more-filled account here even leaves out Prometheus' knowledge of a prophecy he kept from Zeus and the story of Pandora, the first woman with her dowry jar (or box) of miseries and demons.
I am also a very big fan of greek mythology. It is very interesting learning about them and some movies that have come out really help explain a little more about our ancient Gods. I think you did really well on this piece. I agree also that they could have used more detail. Some people just don't understand the importance of these Gods and what they have done and what they are capable of. I find it very interesting sitting down and reading about them. Every time, I learn something new. Im amazed at what they have done, but the punishments are the worse. That really gives me the willies reading what they do to certain people. I can just picture it and it's not pretty...
ReplyDeleteGreat write-up that is chocked full of information! Wikipedia does tend to gloss over most of the details but as you said the Wiki article did manage to provide a basic overview of the legend of “Prometheus” as well as some of the background regarding the fallen titan. Wikipedia has come a long ways from it’s beginning when anyone could alter a page with false information and it would stay that way for ages until someone else came along and changed it. Now they have a fleet of moderators that check most of the article changes to make sure their accurate to keep the pages as informative as possible.
ReplyDeleteI'm huge mythology nerd and I agree, the Wikipedia page left a lot to be desired in the way of detail. The added reasons behind Zeus' extreme punishment, given the fact that Prometheus and Epithemus betrayed their own brothers and sisters to help the gods and then served them willingly even though they were older, and far more powerful than many of the "younger" gods such as Hermes and Diyonisus doesn't make sense without the knowledge that Prometheus deliberately betrayed Zeus' trust twice AND made him look like a fool in front of the whole of the human race and the gods of Oplymus. It makes more sense for the extreme and agonizing punishments given the added information so I'd say you did an excellent job of informing anyone who might not know fully.
ReplyDeleteThis really makes me want to learn more and more about Greek Mythology. The history behind our ancients is remarkable and incredibly interesting. Every aspect of our past is a contribution to today’s society. Learning more about our history and decoding the past will give us answered to questions humans have been asking for centuries.
ReplyDeleteI would like to ask for a credible source for Greek Myths. After reading your post my mind is asking to learn more. If you have any favorite websites that you would like to recommend to me, I would be ever so thankful. I am definitely a fan of your post, and your interest in these Great Gods. The knowledge and information seems bottom less.
After reading your post, I find that I would like to know more about the Greek Mythology. Because your knowledge about Greek Mythology, it seems that Wikipedia is not spot on with the information. This information is helpful and I would like for more information that is from a reliable source. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading this post I have decided that I would definitely like to read and learn more about Greek Mythology. There seems that Wikipedia has left a lot out of their post leaving there something to desired. Wikipedia sometimes leaves out some of the most important details, even when the detail seems somewhat insignificant. I believe that knowing about the past and the history of how the world came to be in its current place, will help us to develop our future beyond what it is now. I know a lot about Greek Mythology and this Wikipedia page leaves out many things not just about Greek Mythology but about all of its many subjects that are covered. If Wikipedia wants to post about several different subjects it should make sure that the information on it should be accurate.
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