Prometheus Bound
After Zeus gave life to mankind, Prometheus set to teach them the necessary things. But all did not went well, for without fire, many could not be accomplished. Meat must be eaten raw, tools made only of stone, bread could not be baked, and house could not be warmed in the winter. Prometheus sighed, and he called upon his brother Epimetheus.
"My brother, you have helped me a lot. But listen, I must give fire to mankind, and by doing so, I shall incur the wrath of Zeus. So I beg you to guard mankind to the best of your power, and above all things, beware of any gift from Zeus," he said.
Then Prometheus set off to Olympus, carrying with him the stalk of a fennel plant, and at the foot of the mountain he met Athena, Immortal daughter of Zeus and Lady of Wisdom. When she knew that Prometheus had decided to give mankind fire, she agreed to lead him to the summit through the secret paths. At that time, Helios drew near with his shining chariot back to Olympus, as the day was nearing night. And Prometheus, secretly hiding, stretched out his fennel stalk to touch the fiery wheel, and then left hastily down the mountain, where he heaped up a pile of wood. With the lighted fennel stalk, he made fire. The first people to see the wonderful gift were the Satyrs, who were amazed by the light and the warmth. Many tried to touch it and own it, but soon they learnt that fire can be harmful. Prometheus set to teach them the usefulness of fire, and not long after, with the help of Hermes, he showed them how to make fire by using rubbing-sticks.
But Zeus was furious, and immediately summoned Prometheus before him.
"Titan! You have disobeyed me! What have you to say?" He cried.
"Lord Zeus, I know what is to be done, and how cruelly you will punish me. But no Immortal may take away a gift an Immortal has once given, and that one man, a son of yours born of a mortal woman, will save the Immortals in the future. And I will tell you this also, that at one time, you will fall as your father fell," answered Prometheus.
The wrath of Zeus was terrible. He summoned his son Hephaestus, to take Prometheus away and bind him with brass fetters to the great mountain of Caucasus. But before Hephaestus left, Prometheus said, "Zeus will fall as Cronos fell, unless he knows how to avert his doom. And I alone know the answer!"
Hephaestus reported these words to Zeus, and Hermes was sent to find out the secret from Prometheus. But still Prometheus would not tell. Zeus further his wrath by sending an eagle to devour Prometheus' liver every day. An Immortal's liver would be re-grown the next day, so the agony was repeated.
Zeus was not very happy with the gift of fire to mankind, so he set to plague them. To do so, he commanded Hephaestus to shape a woman out of clay, Aphrodite to give her beauty, Hermes to teach her cunning, and Athena to dress her. Zeus then breathe life into her, and Hermes took her down to earth as the first woman. Her name was Pandora, and Epimetheus was the first to see her. As soon as he saw her beauty, he forgot his brother's warning about rejecting all gifts from Zeus. Epimetheus and Pandora got married, and they had a daughter called Pyrrha, who married the wisest man, Deucalion.
But Pandora was meant to bring evil to mankind, as Zeus had planned. In Epimetheus' house there lied a box which Prometheus gave him and warned him against opening it. Epimetheus told Pandora this, but Pandora could not resist her curiosity. So one day, when Epimetheus was out, Pandora opened the box. Then all the ills which beset mankind were released, such as the diseases, sorrows, hate, jealousy, lies, theft, and cheating.
Terrified, Pandora slammed down the lid. But a little voice cried, "Let me out too! I am Hope!"
And Pandora released Hope. Prometheus had left Hope in the box too, so that mankind would not suffer as much as Zeus hoped.