Prometheus and the Pandora's box

The myth of Prometheus is that which straddles the old and the new mythology and which marks the passage from one to the right. It takes place largely in Scythia, an eastern and northern country with respect to Greece. The protagonist is still a Titan, a race that is still wild, turbulent, against which Zeus had to fight for a long time to tame her. For the first time, a god, Prometheus, who defies men to courageously challenges Zeus and suffers for the martyrdom inflicted upon him, for trying to redeem mankind from misery and fear.

Prometheus, in Greek means "he who foresees", was a Titan, son of Iapetus and of Oceania Asia or of Iapetus and of the Oceanean Climene. Being prescient, he had not taken part in the Titanomachia, he had understood that Destiny wanted the victory of Zeus. He was a just and merciful Titan, and he felt great compassion for the men who were still wild at the time. Not having much admiration and faith in Zeus, he put him to the test: he killed a bull and hid the best flesh in the skin of this, then he made a bigger pile with the bones, fat and entrails, letting Zeus choose that, as expected, he chose the biggest pile. In revenge for the deception Zeus, he ordered Hefèsto, the god whom the Latins identified with Vulcan, to make a woman of extraordinary beauty and infuse her life through a spark of fire. All the Gods wanted to give a gift to the girl: Athena gave her the aptitudes to the female works, Aphrodite gave her the grace, Hermes gave her the courage and the cunning astuteness. Having received all these gifts, the girl was called Pandora, which in Greek means "all gifts". Zeus added a closed jar to the gifts, a vase that should never be opened.

Pandora was sent to earth to marry Epiméteo, which in Greek means "he who has only hindsight", brother of Prometheus. Epimèteo, who was unexpected and impulsive, as soon as he saw Pandora fell in love with her, he immediately wanted to marry her, without listening to the words of the brother who had advised him to be wary of everything that came from Zeus. Pandora, just married to Epimèteo, won the feminine curiosity and wanted to open the vase that Zeus had given her as a wedding present. Opening the vase, Pandora brought out all the evils of the world that soon spread throughout the Earth, and managed to hold back only the deceptive Hope, which was at the bottom. Among the many unhappiness that most striking men was that of ignorance about the benefits of fire, they still ate the raw meat of animals and froze with cold in winter. Prometheus, to remedy such misery, went to Lemmo where he stole one of his fire sparks from the god Hefèsto, and hiding it in a stick brought it to the men. He taught men all the benefits of fire, but also other things like architecture, writing and medicine. The men taken by so many novelties, began to neglect the religious duties and this thing irritated a lot Zeus who decided to punish the one who had been the cause of so much outrage, Prometheus. He had him captured by his servants Cratos, force and Bia, violence; then he took him to the wild country of Scytia, on the highest mountain where Hefèsto, according to the order received by Zeus, crucified him, stopping him with chains and rings on his arms and feet and with a large nail planted in the side. Every morning an eagle was sent to devour the liver, which then miraculously regrowed every day. The torture lasted centuries, not even the Oceanines, who every day came out of the sea to console him, succeeded in convincing Prometheus to submit to the power of Zeus. In the ears of Zeus came rumor that Prometheus had predicted the end of his reign and that only he could help him by revealing his secret; Zeus hastened to send Hermes from Prometheus but he did not want to talk until he was released from the chains and Zeus was not recognized by his acting in good faith to help men. More centuries passed, when Zeus decided to free Prometheus who maintained the covenant and revealed that if he had married Thetis, he would have to suffer the same fate he had for his father Cronos and Uranus. Known the secret Zeus married Hera and married Thetis to a mortal, Peleus.