Feature film - 3rd part of the "Mythica" project

 

Prometheus was the son of Iapetos and Klymene. His name means ’Forethought’.
He was not a fool, but why else would he rebel against Zeus? He tried to trick
Zeus (who knows all and sees all) with a false sacrifice. Prometheus also stole
fire from Zeus and gave it to the primitive mortals on the earth. Zeus did not punish
Prometheus alone, he punished the entire world for the effrontery of this rebel god.

Prometheus was a god long before Zeus took the Throne of Eternity. He fought for
Zeus against the devising Kronos, but Prometheus never had true respect for Zeus.
He feared the new Olympians had no compassion for each other or the mortals on
the earth below. To show his disdain, Prometheus prepared two sacrifices and, in
an attempt to belittle father Zeus, he made one sacrifice of fat and bones and the
other of the finest meat. The trick was, Prometheus had wrapped the fat in such a
way that it looked to be the most sincere tribute of the two. Zeus saw through the
trick and magnanimously controlled his anger. He warned Prometheus but did not
punish him.

Zeus had many plans for the reshaping of creation. After the fall of Kronos and his
confinement in Tartaros, Zeus took no interest in the mortal race of men on the bountiful
earth, he intended for them to live as primitives until they died off. Zeus said that
knowledge and divine gifts would only bring misery to the mortals and he insisted
that Prometheus not interfere with his plans. But despite Zeus’ warning, Prometheus
took pity on the primitive mortals and again, he deceived Zeus.

Prometheus gave the mortals all sorts of gifts: brickwork, woodworking, telling
the seasons by the stars, numbers, the alphabet (for remembering things), yoked
oxen, carriages, saddles, ships and sails. He also gave other gifts: healing drugs,
seercraft, signs in the sky, the mining of precious metals, animal sacrifice and all art.

To compound his crime, Prometheus had stolen fire from Zeus and given it to the
mortals in their dark caves. The gift of divine fire unleashed a flood of inventiveness,
productivity and, most of all, respect for the immortal gods in the rapidly developing
mortals. Within no time (by immortal standards), culture, art, and literacy permeated
the land around Olympus. When Zeus realized the deception that Prometheus had
fostered, he was furious. He had Hepheistos shackle Prometheus to the side of a
crag, high in the Caucasus mountains. There Prometheus would hang until the fury
of Zeus subsided.

Each day, Prometheus would be tormented by Zeus’ eagle as it tore at his immortal
flesh and tried to devour his liver. Each night, as the frost bit it’s way into his sleep,
the torn flesh would mend so the eagle could begin anew at the first touch of Dawn.

Zeus’ anger did not stop there. He intended to give mortals one more gift and undo
all the good Prometheus had done. He fashioned a hateful thing in the shape of a
young girl and called her Pandora. Her name means, ’giver of all’ or ’all endowed’.
Her body made by Hepheistos, he gave her form and voice. Athene gave her
dexterity and inventiveness. Aphrodite put a spell of enchantment around her
head and Hermes put pettiness in her tiny brain. She was ready for the world.

Zeus gave Pandora to Ephemetheus (brother of Prometheus). Ephemetheus knew
better than to trust Zeus and he had been warned by Prometheus never to accept
gifts from the Olympians, especially Zeus. One look at Pandora and Ephemetheus
was rendered helpless. He could not resist her, he accepted her willingly. When
the gift was ’opened’, evil and despair entered into this world. Mistrust and disease
spread over the wide earth. Pandora herself opened the forbidden box (jar) in the
house of Epimetheus and through this she released all the ills and diseases and
pestilence into the world. After Pandora was emptied of her curse, only Hope
was left inside. Unreasonable, groundless Hope that makes the curse of life into
a blessing.

And so, Prometheus was destined to suffer at the hands of his own kind. Gods
punishing gods. To him, the saddest part of his punishment was the implication
that the gods (Zeus in particular) had lost their right to rule because they had lost
touch with their hearts. As Prometheus was hanging, shackled to the rock face,
he spoke to Ocean and the river’s daughters. They were all shocked at Zeus’
excesses but Prometheus warned them not to speak out against Zeus, it would
do no good. Zeus would soon fall from his throne and they had but to wait for
that inevitable moment.

When Io, also being punished at Zeus’ will, came upon Prometheus and the
daughters of Ocean, she wanted to know her future. Prometheus, even in his
tortured condition, tried to spare the feelings of the poor girl. She had been
transformed into a black and white heifer and was cursed to wander, prodded
by an evil gad-fly. Her future was only slightly better than his, she was lucky
because she was mortal and would die and be rid of her earthly torment. He,
on the other hand, was immortal. His torment would last forever.

The journey of Io was crucial to the release of Prometheus from his bonds.
After her wandering journey to Egypt, Io was returned to her human form and
had a glorious son named Epaphos. Thirteen generation later, Herakles climbed
the mountain, killed the eagle and freed Prometheus from his shackles.

 

 

Unizarre's "Mythica" series tries to see the classical legends from other perspectives.
The legend of Medusa is a fascinating (if terrible) one to explore first. Unizarre see
"Mythica" is being comprised of three feature films and a follow-up TV series.

Click the following links to discover more.