PROMETEJ

Prometeus

Prometheus, the friend of man, stole wisdom from Athena and gave man reason, to square the balance. Then he stole fire from the forge of Hephaestus and gave it to man as a gift. Since that time, man has had fire to keep himself warm and alive, and to help him crea-te. Prometheus became the protector of the human race, and taught it all he knew. But this angered Zeus, who did not want mankind to be helped to resemble the gods. And when he discovered that Prometheus had given man fire, he unleashed his thunder and lightning: until that time, fire had been reserved for the gods. Prometheus' punishment was a harsh one. Zeus chained him to a peak in the Caucasus, at the end of the world, where an eagle swooped down on him every day and pecked out his liver. But during the night Prometheus' liver grew back again, and so the next day he would undergo his torment once more. Thirty years were to pass before Heracles released Prometheus from his terrible ordeal.
A variation of this myth gives another explanation for Zeus' anger with Prometheus. Once during a formal sacrifi-ce Prometheus divided up the ox, which was to be sacrifi-ced, in a very deceptive way: on the one side he put all the lean meat and the entrails hidden under the hide of the ani-mal and on the other all the bones covered in fat. When it was offered to Zeus he chose the portion with the fat. But when he learned that his portion was nothing but bones while humans got all the meat he fell into a rage and took fire away from them, which Prometheus later stole back.

Pandora

Hephaestus the smith, the god of fire, made the first woman in his forge. To begin with, she was a metal »statue, but she was so beautiful that Zeus decided to give her life. All the other gods bestowed gifts upon her: beauty, grace, intelligence, skill and persuasiveness. But Hermes also gave her cunning and falsehood and Hera gave her the curiosity which would never let her rest. Zeus sent Pandora to Epimetheus as a gift. He was so delighted by her beauty that he took her as his wife. As a wedding present, they were given a handsome box decorated with precious stones and gold. The box was locked, but Zeus gave the couple the key - saying to Pandora that if she wished to live happily with her husband, she should never open the box. For a while, Epimetheus and Pandora lived quietly and happily together. But the curiosity which Hera had made part of Pandora's character proved to be more powerful in the end, and one day she opened the box. Out flew the miseries and misfortunes which have afflicted man since: disease, despair, pain and the other evils. But last of all came hope, like a little bird bearing a message of consolation for mankind.

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