Prometheus: the Fire Bringing God

Write about someone who’s so obsessed with a goal that it leads to the destruction of their closest relationship

Prometheus, was the Titan God of ‘forethought’. He had a brother called Epimetheus which means ‘afterthought’. Prometheus was an important figure in Greek mythology and his story shows that even mythological Gods can become so obsessed with a goal that they forget that their actions have consequences. But before Prometheus became possessed with his obsession, he played with his brother Epimetheus. Before their serious military training began, they were free to play simple childish games, such as hide and seek and blind man’s bluff and various versions of tag. Of course these games would have had a different name, but the principle was the same in that they involved running, playing and carrying on. Later they would follow a more appropriate curriculum which would involve horse riding, archery and spear throwing.

All brothers start out as close friends but as they grow up they tend to become rivals or worse still. In the book of Genesis, Cain killed Abel. In Roman mythology, Romulus killed his twin brother Remus. Sometimes in a civil war, brother will fight against brother and this makes the conflict even more bitter.

When the boys grew into men, the Titan war was raging. This war was a power struggle between the Titans and the Olympians over control of the universe. In the end, the Olympians got the upper hand and the Titans were forced to make a peace treaty. Prometheus knew it would only be a matter of time before the terms of the peace treaty would be broken. He said to Epimetheus “We will finish up as slaves.” His brother who did not have the same foresight said, “Zeus will honour the treaty.” Epimetheus was keen to establish good relationships with Zeus and the Olympians who now held all the power.

“There is going to be no power sharing,” Prometheus said. And he added, “He has already appointed twelve Olympians. Poseidon will rule over the seas, and you know how vengeful he is.” He went on to condemn the rest of the team. He said that Hera was a psychopath, Demeter was irrational, Athena was foolish, Hephaestus was a pyromaniac, Dionysius was an alcoholic and Ares was a warmonger.

“But” his brother remonstrated, “they can be a bit hot-headed at times, but overall their intervention is often a turning point in times of crisis.”

“Do you call Hera’s actions an intervention? She tried to have Hercules strangled in the crib and tried to kill him by designing twelve labours which were almost impossible to complete.”

“We don’t know all the details. The Olympians weigh their decisions carefully. They can see how it will all work out in the future.”

The two brothers grew apart. Prometheus was exasperated that his brother could not see that the Zeus and his band were growing more despotic every day. He decided to get even with Zeus and made a plan to upset this dictator. One day, he was watching Hephaestus in his fiery forge, forging a breastplate for the mighty Zeus. Even Prometheus had to acknowledge that Hephaestus had incredible skills and he had produced many powerful weapons for the Olympians. In fact, Prometheus almost felt pity for this celestial craftsman as he was lame and disfigured after his crazy mother Hera had flung him out of heaven. He crouched over his anvil every day, and he was so absorbed in his craft that he did not even notice that he was disfigured or that people felt sorry for him.

Prometheus suddenly had a brainwave. He would steal a spark of fire from Hephaestus’s forge and smuggle it to earth for the benefit of humankind. Recently he been down on earth and he had noticed how cold and depressed the humans were especially in the colder regions. Humans would not only be able to keep their houses warm, they would be able to cook as well. They could have light in their houses. Fire would transform their lives beyond measure.

Why should humans live without fire? Why does Zeus want to keep them in the dark, and in the cold? 

Prometheus made an excuse to visit Hephaestus on the pretext that he wanted him to make a shield for him. When Hephaestus’s back was turned, he stole a little spark from his forge and hid it in a fennel stalk. He then made a trip to earth and he gave the gift of fire to man. He knew a village in Greece and he thought they would have the foresight and generosity to tell the other villages and within a short space, fire would spread to the whole world.

When he returned, he called with his brother Epimetheus, who was very angry with him. His brother said, “what have you done?” And he added. “You had better go into hiding because Zeus is enraged by your deceitfulness.”

“Epimetheus, you have no idea how much it has meant to humans to have the gift of fire. They will use it to improve their lives. Eventually, you will see how this gift will utterly transform their lives. I am sure they would have figured out a way to create fire as they are clever and inventive. I just helped them to speed up the process.”

“You stole the fire because you wanted to avenge Zeus. He has put a ransom on your head. I will not be able to speak or associate with you until you have been punished.”

Prometheus was disappointed that his brother did not support his actions. He valued his relationship with his brother and he was taken aback by his reaction to his theft of the fire. He realised that he had become so obsessed with frustrating Zeus, that he lost all perspective and his relationship with his brother had been compromised.

Meanwhile Zeus decided he would punish Prometheus as he felt betrayed by him. Prometheus was chained to a rock in Caucasus mountains and and eagle devoured his liver, which was constantly replenished by the next day. This was a high price for Prometheus to pay and as time went by he wondered if his act of defiance had been worth it. He had lost his freedom, he was tortured every day of his existence and his brother had disowned him.