\cf4 \ATXht11636 Prometheus\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 was said to have created the first men, molding them out of clay,
and he was always their benefactor. Since\cf0 \b \cf4 \ATXht8 Zeus\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 had refused them the gift of fire, he climbed Mount\cf0 \b \cf4 \ATXht11507 Olympus\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 \cf7 and, with the aid of\cf0 \b \cf4 \ATXht6 Athena\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 , took a glowing spark from the chariot of the sun god\cf0 \b \cf4 \ATXht10810 Helios\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 . He smuggled this down to earth in the hollow of a stem of wild fennel. Zeus became aware of the theft only when he saw from afar the light of the f
ire burning among men. Enraged at being so deceived, he decided to punish both the thief and the recipients. To men he sen\cf0 t \b \cf4 \ATXht1014 Pandora\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 , the source of all evil. For Prometheus, he devised a suitable punishment, orderi
ng\cf0 \b \cf4 \ATXht7 Hephaestus\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 to chain him to the summit of Mount Caucasus. Every day, an eagle descended from the sky to feed upon his liver which, being immortal, grew back again every night, rendering the torment interminable. He
was released, after many generations, by\cf0 \b \cf4 \ATXht10811 Heracles\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 , who killed the eagle.
