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The Titan in the myths is always shown as being deeply concerned with the fate of humans. Much more so than Zeus, who was not a loving father God as in the great Monotheistic religion. The Olympian demanded sacrifices from humans, above all their meat and as a result, men went hungry and died. Prometheus came up with a trick. At a meeting between the Gods and humans to discuss the issue of sacrifice, Prometheus slew a bull. He dressed up the bones and entrails in appealing ways. Zeus was deceived and selected these instead of the meat of the bull. The Olympian had no choice but to continue with the practice of humans sacrificing bones and hides and as a result man could eat meat. This story is the origin of the unique Greek custom of sacrifice to the Gods. Zeus was naturally angered by this and he took away the gift of fire from humans. This was a disaster for mankind for without fires, they went cold and were at the mercy of wild animals. Moreover, Zeus also took away the means of living and people now had to work hard to obtain food. Prometheus was moved and devised a daring plan. He stole into Mount Olympus and entered the workshop of the God of Smiths Hephaestus and the Goddess of Wisdom, Athena. Prometheus stole fire from the workshop and hid it in a giant fennel stock. Prometheus then gave the fire to humans. He not only gave men the fire but also showed them what they could do with it. According to Hesiod, he showed them how fire could be used to make metals and other important technologies. This was a crucial development in culture and civilization.
==The vengeance of Zeus==
Zeus was enraged, when he learned about the theft and there are two versions of how he punished Prometheus. He ordered Hephaestus, the deity of metalworkers and artisans to create a human woman. The other Olympians were ordered to give her a gift, so she would be alluring. For example, Aphrodite endowed grace on her head and desire to weaken her limbs and bodies. Pandora was the first woman and at this stage and she can be compared to Eve. A jar or box was given to her and in this was filled with every source of misfortune, including sickness and death. Zeus presented Pandora, whose name can be translated as one who brings gifts to Epimetheus, the brother of Prometheus. Now the Titan was a trickster, and he was suspicious of Pandora. However, Pandora opened her jar and from it flew out all the world’s misfortunes. This ended a Golden Age for men, and they had to struggle with many things and also, they became mortal according to Hesiod <ref> Hesiod, Works and Days, iv</ref>. Pandora’s Box doomed men and women to suffer for all time. There is another version of the tale concerning Zeus and Prometheus. Zeus seized the Titan and nailed him to a mountain in the Caucusus Caucasus for stealing fire and giving it to humans. He then sends a vulture to eat the immortal liver of the God of Fire. Every day the vulture would eat the intestine and it would grow back and this cycle was expected to persist for all eternity. This cruel torture of the Titan continued for many centuries. According to some one account, the great hero Hercules freed Prometheus from his savage torment <ref> Graves, Robert. Greek Myths (London, Pelican, 1985, p. 112</ref>. There was an important cult to the God of Fire in Athens. It appears that the Titan was particularly worshipped in Athens and not so much in the rest of Greece.
==The meaning of Prometheus==
Prometheus was the creator or at least the preserver of the human race. In many ways, he is shown to be the true father of people and not Zeus. In many ways, Prometheus is the most important cultural hero in Greek mythology. Comparative mythology has shown that in many cultures there are figures who give people the gifts of civilization <ref>Dougherty, Carol. Prometheus (London, Taylor & Francis, 2006), p. 141 </ref>. This is embodied in Prometheus theft of fire from Mount Olympus. Greeks had little or no knowledge about their early history and the development of civilization. The story of Prometheus allowed them to explain the dawn and the development of culture and civilized life. For example, the story explained as to why humans evolved very differently to animals. Because they had no natural advantages such as fur or claws’ they had to rely on technology. For the Greeks, technology, as a result of fire, such as metalworking was crucial in the survival of the human race and its flourishing. The Promethean cycle of myths Prometheus was also a trickster but he also embodied so much more to the Greeks. He was the personification of forethought and this was important in the rational life, which was essential for civilized living. The Greeks believed that reasons and civilization were inextricably linked, and this is embodied in the figure of Prometheus. In the story of Pandora, we are offered an understanding of the Greek concept of theodicy, that is the reason for evil in the world <ref>Dougherty, p. 120</ref>. While Prometheus may have saved humanity, he was also responsible for its many misfortunes. His theft of fire at once allowed people to become civilized it also doomed them to suffering. The Promethean myths are also cautionary tales. For the Greeks, it showed that excessive knowledge, was dangerous because it could offend (hubris) the Olympian Gods, who were notoriously vengeful. The dangers of too much knowledge was a common theme in Greek mythology, for example in the story of Icarus and Daedalus <ref<Graves, p. 78</ref>. While the Classical World valued reason and technology it was very aware that this may lead to unintended and disastrous consequences.
