Prometheus

A son of the Titan, Iapetos, and the Okeanid, Klymene (Clymene); the brother of Atlas, Menoitios and Epimetheus.

Prometheus incurred the wrath of Zeus for his consideration and kindness towards mortal humans; he defied Zeus on several occasions but when he gave fire to the humans, Zeus had Prometheus chained to the Caucasus Mountains for thirteen generations; each day an eagle would devour his liver and each frigid night the organ would grow back again; finally, Herakles (Heracles) broke the chains and freed Prometheus.

When Iason (Jason) was on his quest for the Golden Fleece, the priestess of Hekate (Hecate), Medea, prepared a magical potion from the plant that grew from the drops of the blood-like ikhor (ichor) that Prometheus shed while chained to the mountain.

Prometheus is also responsible for the way animal sacrifices are rendered to the Immortals because he tried to fool Zeus by offering fat and bones instead of choice meat; Zeus, knowing all things, recognized the deception but allowed Prometheus to proceed with the charade and made the sacrifice of fat the preferred way to make sacrifice.

Prometheus knew the clever and, sometimes devious, ways with which Zeus manipulated the other Immortals as well as the mortal humans and warned his brother, Epimetheus, not to accept Zeus’ gift of the first woman, Pandora, but Epimetheus was captivated by the irresistible beauty of Pandora and unwittingly unleashed all the woes and hardships that now plague all mortal men.

The name Prometheus literally means Forethought.

• Works and Days, line 50
• Theogony, lines 510 and 521