Prometheus (Part II)
Uranus and Gaia, embodying spiritual heaven and earth, came first and embraced the whole. They are the progenitors of the Titans.
The last born of the Titans was Cronus, and he would eventually ascend to his father's (Uranus) throne. Under Cronus, life was joyful for the first race of mortals; they were free from toil and misery, their arms and legs never failed, and they feasted out of harm's way. This period was called the Golden Age.
Cronus's wife, Rhea, bore Zeus, who ascended to his father's (Cronus) throne after a great war with the Titans. Zeus ruled as King of the Gods. Because of his foresight, Prometheus was chosen as Zeus's advisor. He advised Zeus to hurl the Titans into Tartarus.
The Golden Age ended, ushering in the Silver Age and the second race of men. During this age, mankind began to do harmful acts in the presence of Zeus, and he was not pleased. Zeus willed for the second race of men to suffer privation. Prometheus, a descendant of the Titans, wasn't entirely committed to Zeus's cause; instead, he devoted himself to saving mankind.
Although the second race of men did not survive, and the Silver Age ended, Prometheus decided to create a third race of men from red clay and breathed life into them. These mortals lived in the Bronze Age.
In the early years of the Bronze Age, Prometheus observed how inept these mortals were and took pity on them. Epimetheus, Prometheus's brother, had bestowed all the available skills on animals, plants, and even rocks, leaving nothing for men of this generation.
Prometheus descended Mount Olympus to dwell among these mortals, instructing them in the ways of knowledge that the Gods had hidden from them. Out of sight of Zeus, he also entered Hephaestus's workshop, purloined fire in a hollow fennel stalk to give to these mortals, and taught them how to subdue and harness irrational creatures for the benefit of mankind.
Prometheus's cunning roused the wrath of Zeus, the cloud-gatherer, who vowed to strike him and his race of men with great suffering. To atone for the displaced fire, Zeus decreed that his race of men would receive a baleful gift that would please their hearts and, at the same time, embrace their destruction.
Once the sheer despairing snare had been wrought, Zeus sent glorious Hermes, the swift messenger, to bestow it upon Epimetheus as a gift. Although Prometheus had forewarned Epimetheus about accepting gifts from Zeus, he received the young woman and the sealed jar she brought for him without a second thought. The young woman, Pandora, lifted the lid from the jar with her hands, scattering the gifts from the Gods and Goddesses. Her thoughts, in turn, caused mortals misery and harmful behaviour.
Zeus ordered for Prometheus to be fastened with cruel chains of bronze to a rock on Mount Caucasus, a stake driven through his middle. There, he suffered searing heat and bitter cold, while each day, a vulture gnawed away at his immortal liver, which was renewed each night to continue the torment.
It was Theban-born Heracles who, upon arriving at Mount Caucasus, slew the vulture and released Prometheus from his affliction, following the will of Zeus. Heracles had agreed with Zeus that the immortal life of Centaur Chiron would be exchanged for that of Prometheus.