Prometheus and the Fire

Gods vs Titans
Thousands of years ago, when there were neither humans nor animals on earth, the gods of
Olympus had a terrible fight with the Titans, their ancestors.

This fight is known as The Titanomachy. The gods won the battle and their king, Zeus, locked
the Titans away deep inside the Earth in a place called Tartarus. He locked away all the Titans,
except for Prometheus and Epimetheus, two brothers who had sworn their loyalty to Zeus.

Prometheus and Epimetheus Did you Know?

After the war, Zeus asked Prometheus and Epimetheus
to create animals, which were to live on Earth. First, Prometheus in Greek
Epimetheus formed the animals, creating them out of means ‘forethought’.
Prometheus was given
clay and water. He gave each of the creatures a special
his name because he
gift, for example, the birds were given wings to fly and was a man who was
the lion was given sharp teeth and claws. always thinking and
planned his next steps
However, Epimetheus gave all the gifts away forgetting
before acting.
to keep some for the men, who were yet to be created.

Out of Clay
Prometheus was friends with the gods, especially Zeus. Zeus enjoyed being the king of the gods
but he was also bored and felt that something was missing. One day, he asked Prometheus to
create new beings in the physical likeness of the gods. However, they were to be without power.
Prometheus got to work immediately and some days later, the first humans made out of clay
were ready. The goddess of wisdom, Athena, gave them life by breathing into them.

Prometheus and the First Men

As the humans’ creator, Prometheus grew fond of them. He found himself spending all his
time down on Earth, living among people, talking with them and helping them in their daily
lives. However, soon Prometheus noticed that his beloved men were unhappy. His brother,
Epimetheus, having run out of gifts, didn’t give them anything for protection. The caves in
which they lived were cold. They were hunted by wild animals and had to survive with little
food. He wanted to help them and he came up with a plan.

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 Prometheus and the Fire

He asked Zeus to give humans the divine fire that gods had in their possession. Prometheus was
confident that with this gift the humans would be able to cook, build strong shelters, create
tools, protect themselves from wild animals and keep themselves warm.. However, Zeus refused
and Prometheus didn’t have any option other than to steal it.

Prometheus and the Prometheus’ Punishment

Theft of Fire
When no one was watching, Prometheus
stole the fire from the workshop of
Hephaestus (the god of fire), took it to
Earth and gave it to the humans. As
Prometheus had predicted, they used the
fire to cook food, build houses, create
tools and keep themselves warm when
terrible winters came. They were happy
and Prometheus was proud of what he
had achieved. Until one day, Zeus looked
down from Mount Olympus and saw fires
burning in people’s houses.
When Zeus gazed down and found out
what had happened, he was furious
and decided to punish Prometheus for
what he had done. He chained him to a
huge rock on Mount Caucasus and an
eagle ate his liver every day. Despite his
punishment, Prometheus didn’t regret
what he had done; he was happy seeing
his people developing and living happily
on Earth.

Prometheus’ Legacy
The ancient Greeks believed they owed their development and civilisation to Prometheus, and
were grateful that he had been brave enough to oppose Zeus. Prometheus knew that his actions
would have serious consequences for him and that he would be punished for his actions. Many
years later, Prometheus was freed by Heracles, a hero and son of Zeus, during his journey to
complete his Twelve Labours.

Glossary
Ancestor: a person, like a grandparent, Grow fond of someone: to care about
from whom a person is descended someone very much

Forethought: careful consideration of Legacy: something left or handed down by

what will be necessary or may happen in an ancestor
the future
Oppose: disagree

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 Prometheus and the Fire
Gods vs Titans
Thousands of years ago, when there were neither humans nor animals on earth, the gods
of Olympus had a terrible fight with the Titans, their ancestors. This fight, which caused
mountains to move and the earth to crack, is called The Titanomachy. The gods won the battle
and their king, Zeus, locked the Titans away deep inside the Earth in a place called Tartarus.
He locked away all the Titans, except for Prometheus and Epimetheus, two brothers who had
sworn their loyalty to Zeus.

Prometheus and Epimetheus Did you Know?

When the terrible battle was over, Zeus gave Prometheus
Prometheus in Greek
and Epimetheus the task of creating animals that would
means ‘forethought’.
inhabit the Earth. First, Epimetheus formed the animals, Prometheus was given
creating them out of clay and water. He gave each of his name because he
the creatures a special gift, for example, the birds were was a man who was
given wings to fly, the bear was given fur to keep it always thinking and
warm, and the lion was given sharp teeth and claws. planned his next steps
However, Epimetheus gave all the gifts away forgetting before acting.
to keep some for the men, who were yet to be created.

Out of Clay
Prometheus was friends with the gods and especially Zeus. Zeus enjoyed being the King of the
gods but he was also bored and felt that something was missing. One day, he came up with a
brilliant idea. He asked Prometheus to create new beings in the physical likeness of the gods.
They were however, to be without power. Prometheus got to work immediately and some days
later, the first humans made out of clay were ready. The goddess of wisdom, Athena, gave
them life by breathing into them.

Prometheus and the First Men

As the humans’ creator, Prometheus grew fond of them. He found himself spending all his
time down on Earth, living among people, talking with them and helping them in their daily
lives. However, soon Prometheus noticed that his beloved men were unhappy. His brother,
Epimetheus, having run out of special gifts, didn’t give them anything for protection. The caves
in which they lived were cold, they were hunted by wild animals and had to survive with little
food. He couldn’t bear seeing them in this condition and came up with a plan.

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 Prometheus and the Fire
He asked Zeus to give humans the divine fire that gods had in their possession. Using this gift,
Prometheus was confident that humans would be able to successfully provide for their own
essential needs. However, Zeus refused this request, as he feared that the fire would enable the
humans to overthrow the gods. Prometheus, therefore, had no option other than to steal it.

Prometheus and the Prometheus’ Punishment

Theft of Fire
When no one was watching, Prometheus
stole the fire from the workshop of
Hephaestus (the god of fire), took it to
Earth and gave it to the humans. As
Prometheus had predicted, they used the
fire to cook food, build houses, create
tools and keep themselves warm when
terrible winters came. They were happy
and Prometheus was proud of what he
had achieved. Until one day, Zeus looked
down from Mount Olympus and saw fires
burning in people’s houses.
When Zeus gazed down and found out
what had happened, he was furious
and decided to punish Prometheus for
what he had done. He chained him to a
huge rock on Mount Caucasus and an
eagle ate his liver every day. Despite his
punishment, Prometheus didn’t regret
what he had done; he was happy seeing
his people developing and living happily
on Earth.

Prometheus’ Legacy
The ancient Greeks believed they owed their development and civilisation to Prometheus and
were grateful that he had been brave enough to oppose Zeus. Prometheus knew that his actions
would have serious consequences for him and and that he would be punished for them. Many
years later, Prometheus was freed from Mount Caucasus by Heracles, a hero and son of Zeus,
during his journey to complete his Twelve Labours.

Glossary
Forethought: careful consideration of Legacy: something left or handed down by
what will be necessary or may happen in an ancestor
the future
Oppose: disagree
Grow fond of someone: to care about
someone very much

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 Prometheus and the Fire
Gods vs Titans
Thousands of years ago, when there were neither humans nor animals on earth, the gods
of Olympus had a terrible fight with the Titans, their ancestors. This fight, which caused
mountains to move and the earth to crack, is called The Titanomachy. The gods won the battle
and their king, Zeus, locked the Titans away deep inside the Earth in a place called Tartarus.
He locked away all the Titans, except for Prometheus and Epimetheus, two brothers that had
sworn their loyalty to Zeus.

Prometheus and Epimetheus Did you Know?

When the terrible battle was over, Zeus gave Prometheus
and Epimetheus the task of creating animals that
would inhabit the Earth. First, Epimetheus formed the
animals, creating them out of clay and water. He gave
each of the creatures a special talent, for example, the
birds were given wings to fly, the bear was given fur to
keep it warm and the lion was given sharp teeth and
claws. However, Epimetheus gave all the talents away
forgetting to keep some for the men, who were yet to
be created.
Prometheus in Greek means
‘forethought’, whereas
Epimetheus means ‘afterthought’.
The two Titans were given their
names because of their qualities.
Prometheus was always thinking
and planned his actions carefully.
Epimetheus on the other hand,
acted first before thinking; a
character trait which was to have
grave consequences for humans.

Out of Clay
Prometheus was on good terms with the gods and especially with Zeus, who he considered
a friend. Zeus, despite his enjoyment of being the king of the gods, was bored and felt that
something was missing. One day, he came up with a brilliant idea. He asked Prometheus to
create a new race of beings in the physical likeness of the gods. They were however, to be
without power. So, Prometheus got to work immediately and some days later the first humans
made out of clay were ready. The goddess of wisdom, Athena, gave them life by breathing into
them and giving them her wisdom.

Prometheus and the First Men

As the humans’ creator, Prometheus grew fond of them. He found himself spending all his
time down on Earth, living among people, talking with them and helping them in their daily
lives. However, Prometheus soon noticed that his beloved men were unhappy. His brother,
Epimetheus, having run out of special talents, didn’t give them anything for protection and
that made them vulnerable. The caves in which they lived were cold. They were hunted by wild
animals and had to survive with little food. He couldn’t bear seeing them in this condition and
came up with a plan.

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 Prometheus and the Fire
Prometheus travelled to Mount Olympus and he asked Zeus to give humans
the divine fire that the gods kept. Prometheus was confident that with this gift
the humans would be able to cook, build strong shelters, create tools, protect
themselves from wild animals and keep themselves warm. Zeus was scared that
the divine fire would make humans strong enough to overthrow the gods and he
refused the request. With no other option available, Prometheus decided to steal it.

Prometheus and the Theft of Fire Prometheus’ Punishment

When no one was watching, Prometheus stole
the eternal fire from the workshop of Hephaestus
(the god of fire), took it to Earth and gave it to
the humans. At first, the humans were afraid -
they had never seen something so bright or felt
something so hot. However, they soon came to
understand they could use it to improve their
lives. As Prometheus had predicted, they used
the fire to cook food, build houses, create tools
and keep themselves warm when terrible winters
came. They were happy and Prometheus was
proud of what he had achieved. Until one day,
Zeus looked down from Mount Olympus and saw
fires burning in the men’s and women’s hearths.
When Zeus gazed down and found out
what had happened, he was furious. He
immediately asked for Prometheus to
come to him and decided to punish him
for ignoring the decision of the gods. He
chained him to a huge rock on Mount
Caucasus and an eagle ate his liver. As
Prometheus was immortal, his liver grew
back and the eagle feasted on it every
day without fail. Despite his punishment,
Prometheus never regretted his actions;
he was happy seeing his people excelling
on Earth and living happily.

Prometheus’ Legacy
The ancient Greeks believed they owed the development of their civilisation to Prometheus, a
kind-hearted Titan who loved them enough to oppose Zeus and steal the divine fire for them.
Prometheus knew that his actions would have grave consequences for him and he paid with
a horrible punishment. Many years later, Prometheus was freed from Mount Caucasus by
Heracles, a hero and son of Zeus, during his journey to complete his Twelve Labours.

Glossary
Forethought: careful consideration of what will Legacy: something left or handed down
be necessary or may happen in the future by an ancestor

Afterthought: something that is thought of later Vulnerable: exposed to the possibility

of being attacked or harmed, either
Grave: serious
physically or emotionally
Excel: be very good in an activity or subject

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