THE MYTH OF

PROMETHEUS
The best and easiest way to understand the nature and tasks of education is, perhaps, the
myth of Prometheus, as set forth in Plato's Protagoras.
Here it is, as Protagoras himself explains in that dialogue: when the gods had shaped the
animal strains, they commissioned Prometheus and Epimetheus to conveniently
distribute among them all those qualities OR GIFTS with which they must be provided
to survive. Epimeteo was in charge of distribution . In the distribution he gave some
strength, but not speed; For others, the weakest , he reserved speed so that, in the face of
danger , they could save themselves by fleeing; He granted some natural weapons of
offense or defense and, to those he did not provide with these, he did provide them with
various means to guarantee their salvation. He gave the little ones wings to flee or
underground caves and hiding places to take shelter . To the great, to the vigorous, in
his own corpulence he assured his defense .
In a word, it maintained a fair balance in the distribution of powers and gifts so that no
race was forced to disappear. He also gave them thick hair and very thick skin, a good
defense against cold and heat. And he provided each animal species with a different
food : the herbs of the earth or the fruits of the trees , or the roots, or, for some, the meat
of others. However, he gave the carnivores limited posterity, while he granted abundant
offspring to his victims, in order to guarantee the continuity of their species.
Now Epimetheus , whose sagacity and intelligence were not perfect , did not realize that
he had spent all his faculties on irrational animals and that the human race had been left
unequipped. At this point, Prometheus came to examine the distribution made by
Epimetheus and saw that, although all races were adequately provided for their
conservation , man was naked , barefoot and had neither defenses against the elements
nor natural weapons . It was then that Prometheus decided to steal fire and mechanical
ability from Hephaestus and Athena , with the aim of giving them to man . In this way,
with mechanical skill and fire, man came into possession of everything necessary to
protect and defend himself , as well as the instruments and weapons suitable for
obtaining food , which he had been deprived of with the careless distribution of food.
Epimetheus .
Thanks to mechanical skill, man was able to invent shelters , clothing , footwear , as
well as instruments and weapons to obtain food. Furthermore, he had the art of emitting
sounds and articulated words, and he was also the only one among animals capable, as a
participant in a divine ability, of MAN IS THE ONLY ONE OF HIS ANIMAL
SPECIES WHO CAN SPEAK AND honor the gods , and build altars and images of
divinity. But , even so, men did not have their lives assured because they lived dispersed
and could not fight advantageously against wild beasts. It was then when they tried to
meet and found cities that would serve as shelter; but once gathered, BUT THEY HAD
NO UNDERSTANDING OF THEMSELVES AND not possessing the political art ,
that is, of living together , they offended each other and soon began to disperse again
and perish .
Then, Zeus had to intervene to save the human race from dispersion for the second time,
and to do so he sent Hermes to bring mutual respect and justice to men, so that they
would be organizing principles of human affairs.
communities and create bonds of solidarity and harmony among citizens. And, unlike
the mechanical arts , which were by no means given to everyone since, for example, a
single doctor is enough for many who are ignorant of the art of medicine, Zeus ordered
that everyone participate in the political art , that is, of reciprocal respect and justice and
that those who refused to participate in them were expelled from the human community
or sentenced to death.
The myth of Protagoras contains some important truths. First, that the human race
cannot survive without mechanical art and without the art of coexistence. Second, that
these arts, precisely because they are such (that is, arts and not natural instincts or
impulses) must be learned. Currently we say that man must learn the techniques of
using already built objects and the working techniques of objects to be built or
produced, and that he must also learn to behave with other men in a way that guarantees
collaboration and solidarity. , in accordance with what Plato called “reciprocal respect
and justice.”
Consequently, man has a much longer (relative to life span) and more tiring childhood
than that of other animals. These also must learn the use of the organs with which nature
has endowed them , and therefore they all go through, more or less, a period of training
that corresponds to what education is in man. But animals quickly come into possession
of their own capacities to preserve themselves because these capacities, as Protagoras
rightly observed, are inscribed in their organic structure, in the gifts distributed by
Epimetheus.
For man , on the contrary, the immediate use of his organs, for example, learning to see,
to move, to walk, does not guarantee life in any way : he needs the gifts of Prometheus
GIVES THEM FIRE AND MECHANICAL ABILITY and Zeus RECIPROCAL
RESPECT AND JUSTICE, the mechanical and moral techniques that require much
longer and more painful training. And it should be noted that the acquisition of such
techniques requires language , because without it not only could they not be
communicated from one man to another, but they would not have been born or
developed. In effect, only the use of language allows the abstractions and
generalizations essential for the formation of the techniques themselves . A word (or
linguistic sign) does not designate a particular thing, this thing, but a generic object,
which is defined by its possible use, for example, the words “axe”, “arrow”, “bow”, do
not designate this axe, this arrow, this bow, but any axe, arrow and bow (regardless of
their particular shape, size, color, etc.), which are defined by the particular use for
which they serve.
When the child learns to speak , he does not learn to designate each thing with a word ,
as is commonly believed, but rather he learns to identify in things , through words, the
generic possibility of use that defines them. For example, when the mother tells him
“this is a fork,” what she is teaching him is not so much the word itself as the
relationship between the word and a whole series of objects (all possible forks, whatever
their shape, size, material, etc.), which can be defined by the common use to which they
are intended. Therefore, Protagoras was right to link the “ mechanical art”, that is, the
techniques of use and production of objects , with the “art of the word” , because in
truth neither of the two can do without the other.
 CRITICAL COMMENT
This reading is important because the myth of Protagoras contains some truths about
everything that human beings went through in order to survive and have a safe life. In the
same way, Prometheus also tries to favor men by giving them the fire and mechanical
ability stolen from the gods Hephaestus and Athena, an essential element not only in the
material sense as a fundamental starting point for further advances in the development of
civilization in that antiquity of the human beings since you well know that even with the
update we are moving forward with new methods. Zeus also ordered that everyone
participate in political art or else they would be punished because this is a truth of us
since the obligation to follow the dictates of the gods because otherwise, we must be
punished, all this is a way of our reality since The idea has accompanied human beings in
all religious beliefs and until now we think that if we commit any sin we will be punished
by a God that each of us believes. Good should be done with no other intention beyond
causing well-being. Prometheus did good to humans. He also teaches us that when we do
good with an intention other than desiring well-being, the good action is no longer real,
because it pursues a purpose.
MACROSTRUCTURAL LEVEL:
PARAGRAPH 1:
0. MAIN IDEA: understanding nature
a. SECONDARY IDEAS: exhibition in Plato's Protagoras
PARAGRAPH 2:
0. MAIN IDEA: the giving of gifts by the gods
a. SECONDARY IDEAS: Epimetheus' distribution of qualities to animals
PARAGRAPH 3:
0. MAIN IDEA : Epimetheus gave a fair balance in the distribution of each animal
a. SECONDARY IDEAS:
PARAGRAPH 4:
b. MAIN IDEA: the expenditure of all faculties on irrational animals
c. SECONDARY IDEAS:
-the intervention of Prometheus by man .
- Prometheus decided to steal fire and mechanical ability for human
beings from Hephaestus and Athena.
PARAGRAPH 5:
b. MAIN IDEA: the invention of man thanks to mechanical skill
c. SECONDARY IDEAS: Human beings are the only ones who can articulate words.
PARAGRAPH 6:
b. MAIN IDEA: the intervention of Zeus to save the human race for the second time
c. SECONDARY IDEAS:
- Zeus ordered that everyone participate in political art
- creates bonds of solidarity and harmony for humanity
PARAGRAPH 7:
 d. MAIN IDEA: The myth of Protagoras contains some important truths
e. SECONDARY IDEAS:
- Human beings cannot survive without mechanical art.
- Human beings must always participate in collaboration and solidarity
PARAGRAPH 8:
d. MAIN IDEA: man has a much longer and more tiring childhood
e. SECONDARY IDEAS: animals quickly come into possession of their own
capacities
-
PARAGRAPH 9:
d. MAIN IDEA: man needs the gifts of Prometheus and Zeus
e. SECONDARY IDEAS: the use of language allows the abstractions and
generalizations essential for the formation of the techniques themselves.
PARAGRAPH 10:
f. MAIN IDEA: the child learns to speak, learns to identify things
g. SECONDARY IDEAS : Protagoras was right to link “mechanical art”, that is, the
techniques of use and production of objects

HIERARCHY OF IDEAS:

THE MYTH OF
PROMETHEUS

UNDERSTANDING
NATURE

EPIMETHEUS GAVE THE INVENTION OF

THE DELIVERY OF A FAIR BALANCE IN MAN THANKS TO
GIFTS BY THE GODS THE DISTRIBUTION MECHANICAL
OF EACH ANIMAL SKILL

SUPERSTRUCTURAL LEVEL:
VOCABULARY:
KIND OF TEXT:
FUNCTION OF LANGUAGE:
EXHIBITION STRUCTURE :
INTRODUCTION:
DEVELOPMENT:
CONCLUSION:

STUDENT: LUCY LOAYZA SOTO

CLASSROOM: B
CYCLE: I