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Key words£ºPrometheus,
God,
Zeus,
fire
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Genre£ºmyth |
Topic£ºsacrifice |
Words:290 |
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When he found out he had been tricked,
he was very angry and as a punishment
he (Zeus) took away fire from mankind... |
Prometheus
(simplified version)
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Author£ºUnknown |
Source£ºwww.bbc.co.uk |
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Nation£ºGreece |
Date£º2008-8-21 |
(Prom¨¦th¨¦e enchaîn¨¦
(Prometheus Bound) by Nicolas-S¨¦bastien Adam, 1762.
Prometheus chained to a rock having his liver torn out by the
eagle.)
Prometheus the
Titan, cousin of Zeus, is known as the creator of humanity. He
was the brother of Epimetheus, the reckless creator of the
animals, who used all his materials on the animals and had none
left for the humans. He was forced to appeal to his brother for
help and Prometheus created man.
The
Sacrifice
In the
beginning the Gods lived in harmony with men. This lasted until
it came time to decide what should be sacrificed to the Gods.
Prometheus settled this by bringing an ox and dividing it into
two halves - the flesh and the fat covered bones. Because the
flesh looked disgusting when covered in skin, Zeus chose the
fat-covered bones, not realising they were inedible. When he
found out he had been tricked, he was very angry and as a
punishment he took away fire from mankind and stopped the seeds
growing of their own accord, meaning man would have to work to
get food.
Prometheus was
troubled by the confiscation of fire and decided to return it to
man. He lit a stem of fennel with fire from the sun and brought
it down to earth. However, the fire was now mortal, no longer
permanently burning. It had to be guarded and was important
because it separated man from beast.
Zeus was very
angry with Prometheus for this theft. As a punishment he chained
Prometheus to a mountain. There Prometheus was plagued by an
eagle who tore out his liver, which would grow back by the next
day. He was released from his torment when Heracles shot the
eagle and freed him. Zeus relented and decreed that Prometheus
should only have to wear a ring made of his chains in future.
Discussion£º
1. Why did Zeus take away
fire from mankind?
2. How did Prometheus
steal fire from heaven?
3. How did Zeus punish
Prometheus for his theft?
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