Prometheus Brings Fire

About this story

Prometheus, whose name means forethought, is the Titan who gave fire to humankind. His story comes from the Greek poet Hesiod's Theogony, around 700 BC, and from the tragedy Prometheus Bound, traditionally credited to Aeschylus in the 5th century BC, where he is chained to a cliff and lists the arts he taught people. This retelling follows Hesiod's trick at Mecone, the fire hidden in a hollow fennel stalk and the eagle, which here only pecks instead of eating his liver as in Hesiod, and adds a mortal girl, Thea, to receive the fire. Hesiod says Heracles killed the eagle with Zeus's blessing; later writers such as Apollodorus add that he set Prometheus free.

Tips for telling it

• Switch off the lights when Zeus takes fire away, and switch on a torch when Prometheus brings it back.
• Show a drinking straw or a hollow stick so your child can picture a spark hidden in a fennel stalk.
• Afterwards, ask: was Prometheus right to break Zeus's rule, and what would you have done?

Questions people ask

Why was Prometheus punished?

Because he tricked Zeus over the sacrifice at Mecone and then stole fire from the gods to give to people, after Zeus had taken it away. In Hesiod's Theogony, Zeus chained him up and sent an eagle to eat his liver each day, and it grew back each night.

How did Prometheus steal fire?

Hesiod says he hid it in a hollow fennel stalk and carried it down to earth. Giant fennel has a dry, pithy core that can hold a smouldering ember unseen, which made it a clever hiding place.

Who freed Prometheus?

The hero Heracles, a son of Zeus. In Hesiod he kills the eagle with Zeus's approval, so that his fame would grow; later writers such as Apollodorus say he also released Prometheus from his chains.