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Prometheus was the son of Iapetus who was one of the Titans. He tricked the gods into eating bare bones instead of good meat. He stole the sacred fire from Zeus and the gods. Prometheus did not tell Zeus the prophecy that one of Zeus's sons will overthrow him. In punishment, Zeus commanded that Prometheus be chained for eternity in the Caucasus. There, an eagle (or, according to other sources, a vulture) would eat his liver, and each day the liver would be renewed. So the punishment was endless, until Heracles finally killed the bird. Prometheus is known to be one of the most interesting characters in Greek Mythology.

Prometheus

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This article is about the Greek Titan. For other uses, see Prometheus (disambiguation).

In Greek mythology, Prometheus, (Προμηθε?ς in Greek, meaning "Forethinker") [1] is a titan, the son of Iapetus and Clymene, and brother to Atlas, Epimetheus ("Afterthinker"), and Menoetius.

He was a champion for mankind, known for his wily intelligence, who stole fire from Zeus and gave it to mortals.[2] Zeus then punished him for his crime by having him bound to a rock while a great eagle ate his liver every day only to have it grow back to be eaten again the next day. His myth has been treated by a number of ancient sources, in which Prometheus is credited with – or blamed for – playing a pivotal role in the early history of mankind.

During the Greek War of Independence, Prometheus became a figure of hope and inspiration for Greek revolutionaries and their philhellene supporters. Karl Marx was greatly influenced by the story of Prometheus, and called him "the greatest saint and martyr of the philosopher's calendar";[3] since then, Prometheus has become a general symbol for socialism and communism.[4]