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Prometheus Facts & Worksheets

Prometheus was a well-known Titan God of fire. His name is said to mean "forethought." He is credited for creating humanity from mud and clay.

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Prometheus was a well-known Titan God of fire. His name is said to mean “forethought.” He is credited for creating humanity from mud and clay. Unfortunately, his quest to enhance the lives of his creations put him at odds with Zeus.

See the fact file below for more information on Prometheus, or you can download our 27-page Prometheus worksheet pack to utilize within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

FAMILY OF PROMETHEUS

  • Prometheus was the son of the Iapetus, a Titan, and Clymene, an Oceanid, according to Hesiod’s Theogony. 
  • Although most experts agree, there have been additional references to him as the son of Iapetus and Asia, the Titan Eurymedon and Hera, or Uranus and Clymene.
  • Regarding his family, Prometheus was the brother of Titans Menoetius, Atlas, and Epimetheus. 
  • Prometheus (Forethought) and Epimetheus (Afterthought) have been mentioned numerous times in Greek mythology.
  • Deucalion, Hellen, and Aidos were Prometheus’s three children. Deucalion’s story resembles that of Noah from the Christian Bible. He, like Noah, escaped a tremendous flood that wiped out the rest of humanity, and he did it by floating in a vast chest for nine days and nine nights. 
  • He and his wife, Pyrrha, were the only survivors and they are credited with resurrecting humanity.

THE TITAN GOD OF FIRE

  • Although modern academics differ, the Ancient Greeks derived the name Prometheus from the Greek prefix pro- (“before”) and the verb methanol (“to learn,” “to increase in intellect”), making Prometheus the “Forethinker,” which means the One Who Thinks Ahead. 
  • Epimetheus, his brother, was the “Afterthinker,” or the One Who Thinks After.
  • Prometheus played an essential role in the war between the Titans and the Olympians by providing wise counsel. 
  • Despite his Titan status, he and his brother Epimetheus allied with Zeus, avoiding the severe consequences his other two siblings, Atlas and Menoetius, received once the ancient order of gods was toppled.
  • However, things between Prometheus and Zeus soured soon after Zeus established himself as the supreme ruler of gods and men. 
  • The main reason for this was Zeus’s unjust treatment of humankind, which, in Prometheus’ opinion, deserved a far better master.
  • As Prometheus took fire from the gods and gave it to humans, Zeus chained him and sent an eagle to prey on his ever-regenerating liver. 
  • After some time had passed, Zeus’s son Heracles also known as Hercules, shot the eagle. It liberated Prometheus, and the Titan later made peace with his savior’s father.

THE TITANOMACHY

  •  The “Titanomachy,” a lost epic poem, describes how, before the origin of humanity, there was a tremendous 10-year sequence of fights between the Greek gods and the Titans, a race of old-generation giants. 
  • The Titans not killed in the battle were transported to Tartarus to spend eternity in eternal misery. Despite being a Titan himself, Prometheus, whose name means “foresight,” persuaded his brother Epimetheus to fight alongside him against Zeus’s Olympian gods. 
  • In truth, Prometheus was one of the fight’s ringleaders, assisting Zeus in defeating the Titans and regaining control of the sky in a ten-year conflict.
  • He sided with the triumphant Olympians only because the Titans refused to accept his suggestion to utilize cunning and deception in combat. 
  • Atlas and his two brothers, Menoetius, remained loyal and battled alongside the Titans against Prometheus, Epimetheus, and the Olympians. 
  • However, they and the rest of the Titans were defeated, proving that following someone with the name “forethought” is a good idea.
  • Zeus entrusted the Titan brothers with creating all living things, including man, as a reward for fighting alongside the Olympians in the Titanomachy and assisting them in winning the decade-long struggle.
  • Epimetheus was responsible for bestowing godly blessings on beings. 
  • He gave some creatures wings and others the capacity to run over grass or move through the water. 
  • He endowed the monsters with razor-sharp claws, silky fur, and gleaming scales.
  • Meanwhile, Prometheus was hard at work molding mud into the first humans created in the likeness of the gods. According to some authors, Athena brought Prometheus’s clay statues to life.
  • Despite their resemblance, Zeus ordered the humans to die, telling them to pray to the gods of Mount Olympus.
  • Because Zeus considered them inferior human creatures, he made them rely on the Olympians for protection from the elements and monster beasts such as the Hydra, Sphinx, and Nemean Lions.
  • However, Prometheus desired to give his creations a higher purpose and was vehemently opposed to Zeus’s decree. 
  • So, when Zeus questioned how sacrifices should be made, the crafty Prometheus devised a scheme to give humans more authority.

MYTHOLOGY

  • Zeus and Prometheus’s relationship soured when Zeus made himself the absolute ruler of both gods and men. 
  • Prometheus believed that humankind deserved far better than Zeus’s unjust treatment.

The Trick at Mecone

  • The schism between the Forethinker and the Thunderer was cemented at Mecone when Zeus assigned Prometheus the duty of dividing the meat of a great bull into two separate feasts. 
  • One dinner was set aside for the gods, while the other was for the humans.
  • Prometheus, the creator of humans, had a soft spot for them. So, dissatisfied with his command, he attempted to deceive Zeus by offering him a choice between a few bones wrapped in fat and covering a portion of excellent meat within the animal’s insides.
  • Not expecting the ruse, Zeus chose the fat-covered bones, believing it to be the tastiest portion. When he uncovered the lie, he was enraged and barred people from using fire to prepare meat, keep warm, or for any other purpose.

Stealing Fire  

  • Zeus, enraged by Prometheus’s deceit, punished humanity by withholding the gift of fire. 
  • Prometheus saw this as unjust and felt sad for man’s weakened state, so he climbed Mount Olympus and stole fire from Athena and Hephaestus’s workshop. 
  • According to legend, Apollo stole the fire by hiding it inside a fennel stalk and carrying it safely down from Mount Olympus to aid ease man’s problems.
  • Humankind already had a fire in another version of the story. When Prometheus tried to mislead Zeus into eating bones and fat instead of the tastiest meats during a banquet on Mount Olympus, Zeus extinguished the humans’ fire, forcing them to eat raw meat.
  • As in the other account, Prometheus stole fire for the benefit of humanity.
  • This action enabled them to harness nature and exploit it to their advantage. Humans might elevate their lives by using fire to provide warmth and cooked meals. 
  • They could also make weapons to defend themselves and fight in battle. Finally, Prometheus’ flames worked as a spark for civilization’s rapid advancement.
  • To commemorate this gesture, the Athenians staged a race in which teams of runners carried a flaming torch from one colleague to the next. 
  • The first-place team’s final runner was given the honor of lighting a sacrificial fire on Athena’s shrine at the Acropolis. 
  • The race quickly became a tradition, inspiring the Olympic flame ritual that is still held today.

Punishment of the Humans

  • Zeus tasked Hephaestus with building the most beautiful and cunning creature ever created in response to stealing the fire. 
  • Each of the gods bestowed alluring talents on the creature, and even they were taken aback by her beguiling deceit and “beautiful evil.”
  • Pandora was the creature’s name and the first woman in history. 
  • Epimetheus accepted Pandora against the advice of his wiser brother. She soon opened the jar she had brought from Mount Olympus. 
  • It gave birth to many previously unknown ailments and diseases, which have plagued humanity ever since.

Punishment of Prometheus

  • It was, therefore, time for Zeus to vent his rage on Prometheus. He imprisoned the Titan to a rock and had an eagle tear away his liver daily, equaling his cruelty towards humanity. 
  • Every night, his liver would regenerate, allowing him to continue the torment eternally. This punishment continued for centuries until Zeus’s son Heracles intervened.
  • Prometheus’s punishment lasted decades and had Zeus had his way, it would have lasted forever. 
  • However, on his way to the Hesperides during his famous labors, Zeus’s son, Heracles, came across the chained Titan and chose to rescue him.
  • Heracles shot the eagle with an arrow in thanks for Prometheus’s counsel to send Atlas to gather the golden apples and assist him with one of his labors, relieving Prometheus from his enduring suffering. 
  • After that, Zeus and Prometheus eventually buried the hatchet and made peace, ending their centuries-long feud.

Prometheus’s Secret

  • While Zeus was irritated by the trick at Mecone and the theft of fire, he had another motive to punish Prometheus. 
  • He was the only one who knew the identity of the lady Zeus could not sleep with as the “Forethinker.”
  • According to prophecy, their offspring will someday defeat Zeus, his father. Prometheus knew who this woman was but refused to tell Zeus, causing him anxiety over his eventual fall from Olympus.

DEUCALION AND THE GREAT FLOOD

  • At one point, the first humans formed by Prometheus were nearly wiped out by a tremendous flood caused by Zeus. 
  • Deucalion and Pyrrha, the son of Prometheus and his wife, were the only two people to survive, similar to the account of Noah.
  • Instead of an ark, they survived by floating in a big chest.
  • Deucalion and Pyrrha threw stones over their shoulders to repopulate the world once the seas retreated. 
  • They magically changed the stones they tossed into men and women. For the second time, humanity owed its existence to Prometheus, its creator.

CULT

  • Despite being tortured by Zeus for years for his love of humanity, Prometheus never voiced regret for his rebellious actions. 
  • His resistance to persecution, inquisitive nature, and the knowledge and advancement he gave to humanity made him a popular figure in Greek mythology.
  • He was a recurrent figure in Greek art and literature, in addition to his significant part in mythology. He was not only worshiped by practically everyone in Athens, especially potters who relied on fire for their kilns.
  • His image was replicated on a range of pottery and artworks of the time. His picture appears on a piece of ivory art manufactured in Sparta in the 7th century BCE. He is frequently represented on Greek ceramics dating back to 600 BCE, generally being chastised.

Prometheus Worksheets

This fantastic bundle includes everything you need to know about Prometheus across 27 in-depth pages. These ready-to-use worksheets are perfect for teaching kids about Prometheus. Prometheus was a well-known Titan God of fire. His name is said to mean “forethought.” He is credited for creating humanity from mud and clay.

Complete List of Included Worksheets

Below is a list of all the worksheets included in this document.

  1. Prometheus Facts
  2. Do You Know Me?
  3. Prometheus Within
  4. Ritual of Fire
  5. Torch of Wisdom
  6. Prometheus Legacy
  7. Myth Overview
  8. Prometheus’s Confessions
  9. Promethean Dilemma
  10. An Alternative End
  11. Olympic Games

Frequently Asked Questions

Who was Prometheus in Greek mythology?

Prometheus was a Titan in Greek mythology, known for his cunning and intelligence. He is often credited with creating humanity and stealing fire from the gods to give to humans, enabling them to progress and thrive.

Why did Prometheus steal fire from the gods?

Prometheus stole fire from the gods as an act of compassion and rebellion against Zeus, the king of the Olympian gods. He wanted to empower humans with fire’s transformative abilities, allowing them to develop civilization, technology, and culture.

What was the punishment of Prometheus for stealing fire?

As punishment for his defiance, Zeus ordered Prometheus to be bound to a rock on Mount Caucasus, where an eagle would come daily to devour his liver. Prometheus was immortal, so his liver would regrow every day, resulting in an eternal cycle of agony.

How was Prometheus eventually freed from his torment?

Prometheus was eventually freed from his torment by the hero Heracles (Hercules). During his Twelve Labors, Heracles came across Prometheus and killed the eagle. Zeus then allowed Prometheus to be released, as the conditions of his punishment were met.

What other contributions is Prometheus known for?

Aside from stealing fire, Prometheus was also credited with giving humans various gifts such as knowledge, skills, and intelligence. He was said to have taught humans various arts and crafts, helping them advance in various fields of knowledge

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Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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