Prometheous, Eve, Pandora

992 Words4 Pages
1. Describe Prometheus’ role in humanity’s primal history according to Hesiod. Prometheus was a son of titans and surpassed all in scheming and trickery and had several roles in humanity’s primal history. According to Hesiod, the actions of Prometheus explained the existence for ritualistic sacrifices. This is seen at Mecone where Prometheus’ trick brought wrath at him and humans. The purpose of this sacrifice is to settle accounts between the mortals and immortals by bringing two sacrificial offerings before the Gods. Prometheus tricked Zeus into picking an inedible piece of sacrifice which set a precedent for future sacrifices. This precedent is a basic belief that disobeying or tricking the Gods leads to disaster. This is highlighted during Prometheus’ attempt to steal the fire from the immortal’s to give to the mortals that led to the punishment of man working to find his food. Also, it brought a rise to civilisation as well as progress into the human world due to fire being a metaphor for technological and artistic advancement. Another consequence to Prometheus stealing the fire was the creation of the first mortal woman Pandora, the ultimate punishment for men, is responsible for unleashing evil into the human world. Ultimately Hesiod blames Prometheus to be the cause for humanity’s unenviable existence. 2. Who is Pandora and why is she created? Pandora is the first mortal woman created and from her comes the race of female women who are the deadly race who live with mortal men to cause trouble. She was fashioned by the Olympian Gods to punish all mankind for their new knowledge of fire. She was crafted by clay by Hephaestus to look like an immortal goddess as well as having image of a shy virgin. Athena taught her practical skills such as embroidery and weaving, attaining the skill of textiles. Aphrodite gave her grace and made a flower wreath for

More about Prometheous, Eve, Pandora

Open Document