A Myth: " Prometheus Steals Fire from Heaven"
I. Setting:
The setting for the story Prometheus Steals Fire From Heaven is In heaven, Earth,
Olympus, and Mt. Caucasus. The time period is that of when there were only the (Greek)
gods, and no men on earth, and none of the animals seemed worthy to rule the rest.
II. Point of View:
Omniscient point of view
III. Characters:
Zeus - Zeus is the ruler of the universe. At one point in the story Zeus was Jealous of
others' powers. Zeus also had a bad temper and was mad at Prometheus for stealing
heavens fire and chained Prometheus high on Mt. Caucasus, forever. He is one of 2
antagonists in the story.
Hera - Queen of heaven, no significant part in story.
Prometheus - The major protagonist in the story. Prometheus was one of the Titans
(parents of the gods). He always thought of the positive side of things, and never let
anyone or thing phase him. He proudly endured pain and showed his agony to none, all for
inferior humans.
Epimetheus - A minor part in the story. Epimetheus was the brother of Prometheus.
Hephaestus - This minor character is heaven's lame smith. His part is somewhat
significant later in the story, but he has no say in what he does, even if it is wrong.
Pandora - Pandora was made by Zeus. She was made to curb man's power. As beautiful as a
goddess, the immortals bestowed gifts on her to make her more captivating. Pandora is
the 2nd antagonist in the story.
IV. Theme
The hero's mission is to create a man like figure on the Earth, with the power of fire.
Pandora accidentally opened a jar full of disease, envy, revenge, spite, and other evils
which went on man, down on the earth, but she closed it. The only thing left in it was
hope. That is all man had now - hope. Prometheus completed his mission, even though he
was chained up on the side of the mountain and tormented the rest of his life.
V. Plot
There was a time when there was no gods, and Heaven and Earth alone existed. From their
union sprung the Titans, and the children of the Titans, the gods rebelled and overthrew
them. Now there was no men on Earth so Prometheus had a task of making one. He mixed
clay with water, kneaded it, shaped it, and made it look rather god like in shape. He
made it stand upright so man could look up at the stars, as opposed to down on the Earth,
like the animals. Now Prometheus had to give man gifts to make him superior to all the
animals. Unfortunately, his brother Epimetheus already had given all the great gifts to
the animals, and there was nothing left for man. Then Prometheus thought of a great
idea, that would enable man to make weapons, tools, master the arts, protect them from
nature, and slay beasts, among other things. So Prometheus lit his torch at the chariot
of the sun, and went back down to Earth. Zeus was mad because the human was a great
match for the animals on earth, and perhaps even for the gods, so he made woman, lovely
as a goddess. All the gods gave her gifts to make her even better. She was named
Pandora - Gift of All. Epimetheus was enchanted with Pandora so he took her into his
home, where he had a jar with certain gifts that he had never given out to animals, and e
warned her to stay far away from that jar. She thought it would do no harm if she just
peeked in to see what was there, but as soon as she did, out came a host of evil plagues,
and all manner of disease, envy, spite, revenge, and they spread out far and wide. She
quickly clapped on the lid only to find it almost completely empty. Only hope had
remained -- hope which never leaves mankind. Zeus was no longer worried about the power
of mankind but he was furious because Prometheus had stole heaven's fire. Zeus summoned
Hephaestus who was heavens lame smith. Prometheus was chained on the top of Mt.
Caucasus, where a vulture would prey on his liver, and it would grow back as fast as it
was devoured. Prometheus never groaned or regretted what he did, and he lay proud on the
mountain, enduring the pain and suffering forever (and for the pride of mankind.)
VI. Analysis of the Hero
Prometheus was a very determined person. I believe this because he went through the
trouble of stealing the fire from heaven, just for some animals (humans). I also think
that Prometheus was clever. It even said in the book "Quick-witted Prometheus" but that
is not the whole reason. He is clever because even after his brother had given all of
the gifts he could think of to the other animals, Prometheus thought of fire to give to
the humans. Prometheus was proud of what he did, because at the end of the story he did
not regret what had happened, even though he was chained up at the top of the mountain to
be tortured. Prometheus is also very kind. He warned his brother about the evil
Pandora, but his brother didn't listen, and the consequences were not good at all. One
negative trait of Prometheus is that he didn't realize what the consequences would be
from stealing the fire from heaven. He just took it, and went away rejoicing. I can't
think of a name for this trait, maybe half-witted, even though he was very intelligent.
VII. Conflicts
Person vs. Person: Zeus was Jealous of Prometheus and his power to create man, and to
steal the fire from heaven. He ultimately avenged this "crime" by having Prometheus
chained to the top of Mt. Caucasus to be tortured for a long time. The conflict here
would be Zeus vs. Prometheus.
Person vs. Society: Prometheus stole fire from heaven and the gods didn't like that one
bit. They were perhaps a society and they disagreed with Prometheus when he did what he
did. The conflict is Prometheus vs. The Gods
Person vs. Nature: The humans that Prometheus was creating had no special talents
because the gifts were all given to the other animals, for example: Wings, Claws, Scales,
etc. How were the humans supposed to be superior to the rest of creation when nature was
greater? That is the Person vs. Nature - Man vs. the other animals.
VIII. Literary Value.
There are many things a person can gain from reading a myth. The values, morals, and
the theme can effect a person and they can use the story (or myth) as an example to be a
better person or to think about what they do, before they consider the consequences. I
can gain knowledge from reading a myth such as this, for example the word hope. This is
explained a great deal in the story and I have a better understanding of it. I also can
look at what Prometheus did and think about what I do before I do it so that in the end,
I don't get hurt (or screwed).
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