<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="185" ></h1>
Prometheus was born at the end of the reign of the titan gods of ancient Greece, and in the battle of the titans led by Zeus between the god of Mount Olympus and the titan led by Kronos, Prometheus, although a titan, sided with the new god of Mount Olympus, so he was not banished by Zeus, but remained on Mount Olympus.
Prometheus, the name stands for vision, because he is always thinking about the future, preparing for what might happen tomorrow, next week, next year, or a hundred years from now. Prometheus did not like to live in the clouds at the top of a mountain, and he was bent on making the world wiser and better than ever.
Prometheus created humans out of clay according to his own body, and he went out to live with them and help them. He found that the human beings he had created were so poor and pitiful that they lived in caves and caves, shivering in the cold, freezing to death, starving to death, being hunted by wild beasts, hunting each other, the most miserable of all living things. For this, his heart was filled with sorrow.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="191" >2, Prometheus steals fire</h1>
"If only they had a fire," Prometheus said to himself, "they could at least warm themselves, cook, and after a while they could learn to make tools and build their own houses." Without fire, they were worse than beasts. So he boldly went to Zeus and begged him to make a fire for the humans so that they might find a little warmth in the long and dreary winter.
"I'm not going to give humanity a spark," Zeus said. "The reason is simple, if humans had fire, they might become as strong and intelligent as we are, and after a while they would build their own kingdoms that would threaten our rule. So let them freeze and shiver and live like beasts. It is better to leave them poor and ignorant so that we, the mighty gods, can thrive and be happy. ”
Prometheus shook his head in disappointment, but he did not give up, he was bent on helping humanity. Prometheus decided to leave Mount Olympus, and while he was walking by the sea he found a reed, and when he broke the reed, he saw that its hollow center was filled with a dry, soft marrow that would burn slowly and last a long time. He had an idea in his mind, picked up the long handle in his hand, and headed for the sun residence in the Far East.
He said: "Although there are tyrants sitting on the top of the mountain, human beings will still have fire. Early in the morning, when the glowing golden sun rose from the earth to begin its daily journey through the sky, Prometheus reached where the sun was. He touched the end of the long reed to the flames of the sun, and the dry marrow was ignited by the fire and burned slowly. Then he turned and hurried back to his land, with a precious spark hidden in the center of the plant.
Prometheus called some trembling humans out of the cave, made a fire for them, and showed them how to use it for warmth and how to make a fire out of wood. Soon every crude family in the land was filled with cheerful flames, and men and women gathered around it, warm and happy, thanking Prometheus for bringing them such a wonderful gift from the sun.
Soon after, humans learned to cook food and began to eat like humans instead of like beasts. They began to abandon their wild and barbaric habits, no longer lurking in the dark places of the world, but coming to the open air and the bright sun, rejoicing in all that life had given them.
After that, Prometheus taught human beings little by little how to live. He showed man how to build houses out of wood and stone, how to tame cattle and sheep and make them useful, how to cultivate and harvest, and how to protect themselves from winter storms and forest beasts. He then showed them how to dig copper and iron underground, how to melt the ore, and how to hammer it into shape and make the tools and weapons they needed in peace and war.
When Prometheus saw how happy the world had become, he cried, "A new golden age is coming, brighter and better than the old!" ”
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="192" > third, Prometheus was penalized</h1>
One day, zeus happened to look down at the earth and saw fire burning, people living in houses, sheep foraging in the mountains, and grain ripening in the fields. "Who did all this?" He asked, and someone replied, "Prometheus!" This made him very angry, and Zeus ordered his two servants to capture Titan Prometheus and take him to the very top of the Caucasus Mountains. Then he sent the blacksmith Wacken to tie him up with chains and tie him to the rocks so that he could not move his hands and feet.
Vulcan was a friend of Prometheus's. Although he did not want to do so, he did not dare to disobey Zeus's orders. Thus Prometheus was locked to a steep cliff, never able to sleep, his hands, arms, shoulders, and legs were firmly bound by chains, and Prometheus endured indescribable pain and suffering, such as hunger and thirst, heat, cold, wind blowing, and rain. In addition, Zeus sent his condor to peck at Prometheus's liver every day, and the eaten liver grew the next day, and the ferocious eagle came back to tear his body with its cruel claws. However, Prometheus endured all the pain without groaning, he never asked for forgiveness, and he never regretted what he had done.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="198" > Iv. Prometheus is rescued</h1>
Day after day, year after year, Prometheus hung there. From time to time the sun would look down upon him and smile at him; flocks of birds would bring him news from far away; the goddess of the sea would come and sing beautiful songs in his ears; people would often look at him with pity and shout at the tyrant who had placed him there.
One day, a beautiful white cow passed by, and she had a human face and big sad eyes. She stopped and looked up at the cold gray peaks and the huge body locked there. Prometheus saw her and said to her kindly:
"I know who you are, you are Io, once the beautiful and happy maiden of the distant Argos. And now, because of the tyrant Zeus and his jealous queen, let you wander the land in this inhuman form. But don't lose hope, continue south, then west, and many days later you will reach the Great Nile. There you will be a maiden again, and more beautiful than before, you will become the wife of the king of that land, and give birth to a son, who will be a hero and will break my chains and set me free, and I wait patiently for that day! ”
Poor Io could not speak, and her sad gaze looked again at the suffering hero on the top of the hill, and then turned and began the long and tedious journey to the land of the Nile. Finally a great hero named Hercules came to the Caucasus and climbed the rugged mountains without fear of terrible thunder and terrible snowstorms and sleets. He killed the condors who had long tormented Prometheus in those rugged highlands. He broke prometheus's chains and released the great old hero.