ABSTRACT
Prometheus, son of the Titans Iapetus and Clymene, created mankind by molding figures out of clay and persuading Athena to breathe life into them. He then did men two great favors: he stole fire from heaven for them, and he tricked Zeus into letting them give the gods the poorer part of a burnt offering (he divided an animal into two portions, one of bones wrapped in fat and the other of meat, and inveigled Zeus into choosing the bones for his share). Zeus punished him for all this by shackling him to a cliff and sending an eagle to tear at his liver. Heracles, another of mankind’s benefactors, shot down the eagle, and Zeus ultimately freed Prometheus in exchange for important information his prophetic powers enabled him to have.
