Prometheus the Fire-Bringer - Retold by Jeremy Ingalls
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"Knowledge is power." This old saying is brought to life in the
story of Prometheus [prg me'the gs]. Imagine the sense of power
humans felt when they first learned to build fire.
As you read, notice the reasons that Prometheus feels such
strong sympathy for mortals.
Retold by
Jeremy Ingalls
Prometheus the Fire-Bringer
Fire itself, and the civilized life which fire ions upon Mount Olympus had inherited the
makes possible-these were the gifts of Pro- secrets of fire, of rain, of farming and metal-
metheus to the men of ancient times. Pro- working. 1 This knowledge gave them a power
metheus himself was not of the oldest race of so great that they appeared as gods to the men
men. He was not alive in the first age of man- who served them.
kind. After the flood which destroyed many of
Ancient writers tell us there were three the men of the second age, Zeus, with the help
ages of men on earth before the fourth age, in of Prometheus, had bred a new race of men
which we are now liVing.Each of the previous in Arcadia. 2 But Zeus did not find life on earth
ages ended in terrible disasters which de- so simple for men and gods as it had been in
stroyed a large part of the human race. A rag- earlier times.
ing fire ended the first age of the world. At the When Cronus, the father of Zeus, had
end of the second age, vast floods engulfed ruled the earth, summer had been the only
plains and mountains. According to the oldest season. Great land masses toward the north
poets, these misfortunes were punishments had barred all the icy winds. The age of
the gods visited upon men for their wicked- Cronus was an age of contentment. No man
ness and wrongdoing. had needed to work for food or clothes or a
The story of Prometheus, remembered by house to shelter him.
the Greeks and set down in their books, tells
of the days when Zeus was king of the world 1. metalworking: process of making objects out of
metal.
and Prometheus was his chief councilor. 2. Arcadia far kit'de ;)1: region in ancient Greece noted
From their ancestors they and their compan- for the simple and pleasant life of its people.After the first flood, the land masses were if you create a new race to provide manpower
broken. Winter winds blew upon countries for the farms and the bigger buildings? That
which before had known only summer. race, too, will rebel while they can see and
The race of gods did not suffer. They envy our knowledge and our power."
warmed their houses, having the secret of "Even so, I will destroy these Arcadians,"
fire. And the women of the race were weavers insisted Zeus stubbornly. "Men are our crea-
of cloth, so that the gods were clothed and tures. Let them learn to serve us, to do our
defended from the north wind. will."
But winter was a harsh season for the men "Up h~re on your mountain," observed Pro-
and women who did not live on the gods' metheus thoughtfully, "you make men and de-
mountain. Without defense from the cold, stroy them. But what about the men them-
they huddled with the animals. They com- selves? How can they learn wisdom when,
plained against the gods, whom they must time after time, you visit them with destruc-
serve for what little comfort they might find tion?"
of food and warmth. They scarcely believed "You have too much sympathy for them,"
the stories which their ancestors had handed answered Zeus in a sharp voice. "I believe you
down to them of a time when men had lived love these huddling, sheepish men."
in endless summer weather, when men were "They have minds and hearts," replied Pro-
friends and favorites of the gods. metheus warmly, "and a courage that is worth
Men became rebels and grumblers. For admiring. They wish to live even as the gods
this reason Zeus, seeing winter coming on wish to live. Don't we feed ourselves on
again, determined to destroy the people of Ar- nectar3 and ambrosia4 every day to preserve
cadia. Then Prometheus, his chief councilor, our lives?"
sought to save this third race of man from Prometheus was speaking rapidly. His
destruction. voice was deep. "This is your way," he went
"They quarrel among themselves," said on. "You won't look ahead. You won't be pa-
Zeus angrily. "They start trouble in the fields. tient. You won't give men a chance to learn
Wemust train up a new race of men who will how to live. Over and over again, with floods
learn more qUicklywhat it means to serve the or with cracking red thunderbolts, you de-
gods." stroy them."
Zeus was walking across the bronze floor "I have let you live, Prometheus," said Zeus
of his mountain palace. A tremendous, tall in an ominous tone, "to advise me when you
figure of a man he was, the king god Zeus. can. You are my cousin. But I am not your
But he who stood beside him, Prometheus of child to be scolded." Zeus was smiling, but
the family of Titans, was even taller. there was thunder behind the smile.
"Worthless," Zeus was saying as if to him- Silently Prometheus turned away. Leaving
self. "Worthless," he repeated again, "the the marble-columned hall, he went out among
whole race. They complain of the winters. the gardens of Olympus, the gods' mountain.
They are too weak a race for the climate of The last roses were fading before the time of
these times. Whyshould we continue to strug- winter winds and rain.
gle with them? Better to be rid of them, every
man and woman of the troublesome tribe." 3. nectar: drink of the gods.
"And then?" inquired Prometheus. "What 4. ambrosia [am bro'zhg]: food of the gods.This was not the first time Prometheus two now walked the upper earth-he, Prome-
had heard thunder in the voice of Zeus. Pro- theus, and Epimetheus,6 his brother.
metheus knew that someday Zeus would turn And now, even now, Zeus was not content.
against him, betray him, and punish him. It was not enough for his glory, it seemed, to
Prometheus the Titan had the gift of reading have dethroned his own father, not enough to
the future. He could foresee the fate hidden have driven the race of Titans from the houses
and waiting for him and for others and even of the gods. Now Zeus was plotting to kill Jhe
for Zeus himself. race of men.
Climbing among the upper gardens, Pro- Prometheus had endured the war against
metheus stopped at last beside an ancient, the Titans, his own people. He had even given
twisted ash tree. Leaning against its trunk, help to Zeus. Having seen what was to come,
he looked toward the south. Beyond the last he had thought, "Since Zeus must win, I'll
canal, the last steep sea wall, he could see the gUide him. I'll control his fierce anger and his
ocean. He looked far out toward that last shin- greed for power."
ing circle of water. Then, with his head bent, But Prometheus could not submit to this
he sat down on the tree roots bulging in thick latest plot of Zeus. He would use all his wits
knots above the ground. to save the men of Arcadia from destruction.
It would be hard to tell you all the thoughts Why were they to be destroyed? Because
in the mind of the Titan-thoughts that coiled they were cold and full of fears, huddled
and twined like a nest of dragons. In his together in caves like animals. It was well
mighty brain were long memories of the past enough in the warm months. They worked
and far-reaching prophecies of what was to willingly in the fields of the gods and reared
come. the horses and bulls and guarded the sheep.
He thought most often of the future, but But when the cold days came, they grumbled
the talk with Zeus just now had brought the against Olympus. They grumbled because
past before him once again. He remembered they must eat and hunt like the animals and
once more the terrible war in which Zeus had had no hoof nor claw nor heavy fur for pro-
seized the kingship of the gods. He thought tection.
of the exile and imprisonment of Cronus, the What did they need? What protection
father of Zeus. He remembered the Titans, his would be better than hoof or claw? Prome-
people, now chained in the black pit of Tar- theus knew. It was fire they needed-fire to
tarus.5 cook with, to warm them, to harden metal for
The great god Cronus himself, who had weapons. With fire they could frighten the
given peace to gods and men, where was he wolf and the bear and the mountain lion.
now? And the mighty"headed Titans, the Why did they lack the gift of fire? Prome-
magnificent engineers, builders of bridges theus knew that too. He knew how jealously
and temples, where were they? All of them the gods sat guard about tpeir flame.
fallen, helpless, as good as dead. More than once he had told Zeus the need
Zeus had triumphed. Of the Titans, only men had of fire. He knew why Zeus would not
consent to teach men this secret of the gods.
5. Tartarus [tar't~r ~s]: place in the underworld for
wrongdoers.The gift of fire to men would be a gift of power. Prometheus had left Olympus as one upon
Hardened in the fire, the spears which men a journey. He alone knew he was not going to
might make to chase a mountain lion might visit the home of Poseidon, Zeus's brother,
also, in time, be hurled against the gods. With lord of the sea-nor going into India, nor into
fire would come comfort and time to think the cold north. He was going only as far as
while the flames leaped up the walls of hidden the nearest sea beach.
caves. Men who had time to think would have He knew that, though he was going only
time to question the laws of the gods. Among to the sea beach, he was in truth starting
men who asked questions disorder might upon a journey. He knew the hatred of Zeus
breed, and rebellion stronger than any mere
squabble in the fields.
"But men are worth the gift of fire,"
thought Prometheus, sitting against the roots
of his favorite ash tree. He could see ahead
dimly into that time to come when gods would
lose their power. And he, Prometheus,
through his love for men, must help to bring
on that time.
Prometheus did not hesitate. By the fall of
night his plans were accomplished. As the
sun went down, his tall figure appeared upon
a sea beach. Abovethe sands a hundred caves,
long ago deserted by the waters of the ocean,
sheltered families of Arcadians. To them the
Titan was bringing this very night the secret
of the gods.
He came along the pebble line of high
water. In his hand he carried a yellow reed.
This curious yellow stalk was made of
metal, the most precious of the metals of the
gods. From it the metalworkers molded rare
and delicate shapes. From it they made the
reedlike and hollow stalks which carried, in
wisps of fenneF straw, coals from the gods'
. ever-burning fire. The gods who knew the
sources of flame never built new fires in the
sight of men. Going abroad on journeys, they
took from their central hearth a smoldering
coal.
7. fennel: plant with bright green feathery leaves and
clusters of yellow flowers.would followhim. He knew that now he, Pro- in their shining eyes. Then qUietly he took
metheus, could never return to the house of the metal stalk from the man who held it.
the gods. From this night he must live his life With a swift gesture he threw it into the heap
among the men he wished to save. of burning wood.
While the stars came out, bright as they The people groaned. The fire-wrought
are on nights when winter will soon come on, metal crumpled against the heat. The metal
Prometheus gathered together a heap of drift- which carried well a single coal melted in the
wood. Opening the metal stalk, he set the blazing fire.
flame of the gods in the waiting fuel. The people murmured among themselves,
Eating into the wood, the fire leaped up, "Hasn't he taken away the secret now? Hasn't
fanned in the night breeze. Prometheus sat he destroyed before our eyes the source of
down beside the fire he had made. He was not fire?"
long alone. Patiently, silently they waited. A few asked
Shadowy figures appeared at the mouths questions but got no answers. The cold wind
of caves. One by one, men, women, and chil- cut them as the last of the burning driftwood
dren crept toward the blaze. The night was grayed and blackened in the sand.
cold. North winds had blown that day. The While the embers crumbled away, Prome-
winds had blown on the lands of men, even theus rose, calling with him a few of the men
as they had blown on the head of Zeus in his who had asked him questions. Watching, they
palace above them. Now in the night they saw him scrape a hollow pit. Wondering, they
came, the people of men, to the warmth of the followedhis every movement, his hands hold-
beckoning fire. ing a br9nze knife, shaving chips of wood,
Hundreds there were of them now. Those taking from the fold of his cloak handfuls of
nearest the tall fire-bringer, the Titan, were bark and straw.
talking with him. They knew him well. It was Next he set in his pit a chunk of ashwood,
not the first time Prometheus had come to flat and firm, notched cleanly on one side.
talk with them. But never before had he come Beneath and around this notch he laid in
late, alone, and lighted a fire against the dark. bark and straw. Into the notch he set a point-
It was not the first time men had seen a ed branch, slender, hard-tipped, and firm.
fire or felt its warmth. More than once a god, Then slowly he swung the branch in his
walking the earth, had set a fire, lit from the palms, twirled it in a steady rhythm, boring,
coals he carried secretly. Men reverenced the drilling more and more rapidly with his skilled
slender magic wands with which, it seemed, and powerful hands.
the gods could call up flame. But never before The wood grew warm. The dust ground
had they stood so near a fire nor seen the fire- from the ash block heated to smoldering. The
wand. straw caught. Light sputtered from the pit.
Now men might hold in their own hands Small sparks glowed, flew up, went out.
the mysterious yellow rod. They said, "Look" Tugged by the night wind, smoke curled from
and "See" and, fingering the metal, "How the dry straw, from the bark, from the wood
wonderfully the gods can mold what is hard shavings fed gently from the heap Prometheus
in the hands." had made ready to his hand. At last, more
For a while Prometheus let them talk. He suddenly than the eye could follow,out of the
watched with pleasure the gleam of firelight pit in the sand rose the liVingflame.Deftly Prometheus removed the ash block, The gods, from their distant houses, saw
added heavier kindling. Last of all, the drift- the glow. There to the south it shone, fighting
wood yielded to the strengthening fire. He against the starlight, the glare in the sky. Was
knelt beside it awhile, breathing upon it, it the end ofthe world? Wouldthe terrible fire
guarding, urging the blaze. At last he rose, consume the earth again?
stood back, folded his arms. As if considering Hermes, the messenger, came at last with
a thought, half sorrow, half pleasure, he an answer to all their questions.
looked up at the glare of fire invading the "Great Zeus," said Hermes gravely in the
night sky. assembly of the gods, "Prometheus, your
cousin, stands in the midst of those rising
Whispers and murmuring first, then cries, fires. He took coals from the central hearth as
then shouting. Men ran to scoop new hollows for a journey."
in the sand. They begged Prometheus' knife. "So?" asked Zeus, nodding his head.
The children, running from the beach to the Then, as if he were holding an argument With
caves and fields, hurried back with fists himself, he continued, saying, "But then?
crammed full of straw and withered leaves. What then? The fire will die. It is not a crime
The people of the caves were breathless for a god or for a Titan to light a fire for him-
with excitement. Here was no secret. The fire- self on a cold evening."
wand did not breed the fire as they had "But that fire will not die," interrupted
thought. No nameless power of the gods bred Hermes. "That fire is not the fire of gods and
the flame. Titans. Prometheus has taught men the
The hard, pale ashwood passed from hand source of fire. Those fires are their own, the
to hand as men struggled to light their own fires of men. They've drilled flame out of hard-
fires. They despaired at first. New sparks flew wood with their own hands."
up and died. Or the hands were weak, too Then the gods knew the end of the world
weak to drill the flame. But at last came was not yet come upon them. But they knew,
triumph. A dozen fires sprang up. Womenand and Zeus most of all, that it might be their
children ran with laden arms to feed each own great power that was burning away in
growing blaze. the fires of men.
3. What gift does Prometheus want to give hu-
mans? What will they be able to do with this
Recalling gift?
1. According to the myth, how many ages of the 4. What does Zeus fear that humans will be able
human race have there been? Why did the gods to do if they have fire? What does Prometheus
end each age? know is going to happen to the gods?
2. Why does Zeus consider the people of Arcadia 5. What actions does Prometheus perform to build
"worthless"? What qualities does Prometheus a fire on the beach? What do the human beings
see in them? do_wben. they s'ee the fire?You can also read
