Prometheus and Pandora

Prometheus had set his heart on helping mankind, so instead of living on Mt Olympus went out amongst men to live with them.

He found them living in caves and in holes of the earth shivering with the cold because there was no fire, dying from starvation, hunted by wild beasts and by one-another, the most miserable of all living creatures.

Prometheus, a great Titan of Greek Mythology

So he decided to steal the fire from Hephaestus the fire-god in a hollow fennel-stalk and deliver it to the mortal kind.

Now people can at least warm themselves, cook their food, melt metals and make tools and build themselves houses.

When Zeus found out what Prometheus had done, he got mad and chained Prometheus to a big rock on Mount Caucasus. Every day a big eagle would come and eat Prometheus’ liver. But because he was immortal and couldn’t

die, every night his liver grew back again and then the next day the bird ate it again.

Prometheus suffered this torture every day for thirty years until Hercules – the mortal son of Zeus – released him.

Prometheus suffered this torture every day for thirty years until Hercules – the mortal son of Zeus – released him.

Zeus also punished the people by sending them Pandora. He ordered Hephaestus to create a woman using water and clay. The gods endowed her with many gifts: Athena gave her wisdom, Aphrodite beauty, Hermes speech and named her Pandora.

Zeus sent Pandora down to earth giving her a little box with a big heavy lock on it. He had put inside every kind of disease and sickness, hate and envy, crime, war and all the bad thinks that people had ever experienced before. He made her promise never to open it.But Pandora was curious. She wanted to see what was inside the box so one day she opened it, and all evil contained there in escaped and spread over the earth. Only one thing lay at the bottom – the Spirit of Hope named “ Elpida” . It’s what gives people strength to live, to see and experience the best in life, to move on.

Later on, when humans were violent and loved to kill, Zeus decided to destroy them all with a great deluge.

Prometheus’ son Deucalion and his wife Pyrha - the purest humans - built an ark and were the only survivors. They recreated the human race.