Current wisdom suggests that the first complex organism evolved many moons ago (600 million years or so, give or take) by two single cells bumping heads, and joining together.
Imagine that; over two billion years of single cells – gizillions of them - going about their daily business, and then, for no apparent reason, two of them get stuck together. It must have sent shockwaves through the cell community. Never before – anywhere in the universe as far as we know – had such an event occurred. What a brazen leap!
And then the damned thing had the cheek to started reproducing. Suddenly we have plants, and then fish, amphibians, mammals, lizards and birds. A short six million years ago our first human ancestor appears. And the rest, as they say, is history.
Sounds pretty fanciful, doesn’t it? Evolution. If it weren’t supported by years of research and study, you wouldn’t believe it. But there it is, the details may be tweaked and clarified, but we can be fairly certain that the deep foundations of the evolutionary principles will stand the test of time.
It is not surprising that the ancient Greeks – without our wisdom and insight - had other views regarding how man came to be. What they believed was something, perhaps, more tangible; that man was made from clay, and that we have the Titan, Prometheus, to thank for our existence.
Prometheus is the grandson of Uranus and the first cousin of Zeus. The first time we properly hear about him is during the Titanomachy. His name means ‘Forethought’, and so it is perhaps not surprising that he became a turncoat and fought against the Titans, including his father (Iapetus - known as the Piercer), and his brothers Atlas and Menoetius, during the war thus playing a fairly sizeable part in sentencing most of his immediate family to eternal damnation in Tartarus.
Prometheus has something of a love/hate relationship with Zeus. In the early days they were close, but both men were ambitious and considered themselves natural leaders, and it no doubt chided Prometheus that it was his cousin who rose to the highest honours in the Pantheon with his charm and superior skill-set. It was Zeus who won all the accolades from the other gods, whilst Prometheus remained side-lined.
After the Titanomachy, Zeus gave Prometheus the task of creating man, which he did using clay. It was Prometheus’ piece de resistance, but Zeus was unimpressed. He was ‘meh’. And his indifference irritated Prometheus, driving a wedge between their relationship.
The strain of the relationship was evident at Mecone. When the gods and men were disputing with one another, Zeus ordered that man must sacrifice a portion of each food to the gods. Prometheus was outraged and decided that he would trick Zeus. He divided a bull into two parts and asked Zeus which portion of food should be sacrificed. Unbeknown to Zeus, Prometheus had wrapped the best parts and the intestines in the skin with the stomach dumped on top (making it look quite revolting). In the second pile Prometheus had placed the bull’s bones which were covered with fat. Zeus picked the bones (thus allowing man to eat the meat). Upon realising that he had been deceived, Zeus was furious and he ordered that fire should be withheld from man as punishment.
Prometheus knew that man would struggle to progress without fire and it pained him to see his children suffering. Unable to watch it any more, Prometheus did the unthinkable and stole fire from the gods to give to man. Zeus, so enraged by the betrayal, then condemned Prometheus to the most savage and cruel punishment he could think up; Prometheus would be chained to a rock in Scythia and have his liver eaten by an eagle. To make his suffering stretch further, each night his liver would magically restore itself, only for the eagle to return the following day. And so Prometheus sacrificed himself so that man could prosper.
Zeus didn’t stop with Prometheus though, he also punished man by creating Pandora and gifting her to Prometheus’ brother, Epimetheus (who had joined Prometheus during the Titanomachy and was now living with man). Prometheus had warned his brother not to accept any gifts from the gods, but such was the beauty of Pandora, Epimetheus could not resist. Pandora brought with her a jar and a warning that the jar should never be opened. Curiosity, however, overcame Pandora, and she opened the jar unleashing all of the evils into the world. Prometheus, tied to his rock, could only watch the pain and suffering of his children.
Despite that, and with the benefit of fire, man did prosper. Man learnt how to communicate and farm, develop societies and create rules and codes. Before long man’s attention turned away from the gods; they didn’t need them anymore and so the gods faded away. Unwanted. Unloved.
As for Prometheus, well Heracles eventually found him in chains on Mount Caucasus and – having obtained Zeus’ consent – killed the eagle and freed the Titan. It is there that his story comes to an abrupt end. For now.
Imagine that; over two billion years of single cells – gizillions of them - going about their daily business, and then, for no apparent reason, two of them get stuck together. It must have sent shockwaves through the cell community. Never before – anywhere in the universe as far as we know – had such an event occurred. What a brazen leap!
And then the damned thing had the cheek to started reproducing. Suddenly we have plants, and then fish, amphibians, mammals, lizards and birds. A short six million years ago our first human ancestor appears. And the rest, as they say, is history.
Sounds pretty fanciful, doesn’t it? Evolution. If it weren’t supported by years of research and study, you wouldn’t believe it. But there it is, the details may be tweaked and clarified, but we can be fairly certain that the deep foundations of the evolutionary principles will stand the test of time.
It is not surprising that the ancient Greeks – without our wisdom and insight - had other views regarding how man came to be. What they believed was something, perhaps, more tangible; that man was made from clay, and that we have the Titan, Prometheus, to thank for our existence.
Prometheus is the grandson of Uranus and the first cousin of Zeus. The first time we properly hear about him is during the Titanomachy. His name means ‘Forethought’, and so it is perhaps not surprising that he became a turncoat and fought against the Titans, including his father (Iapetus - known as the Piercer), and his brothers Atlas and Menoetius, during the war thus playing a fairly sizeable part in sentencing most of his immediate family to eternal damnation in Tartarus.
Prometheus has something of a love/hate relationship with Zeus. In the early days they were close, but both men were ambitious and considered themselves natural leaders, and it no doubt chided Prometheus that it was his cousin who rose to the highest honours in the Pantheon with his charm and superior skill-set. It was Zeus who won all the accolades from the other gods, whilst Prometheus remained side-lined.
After the Titanomachy, Zeus gave Prometheus the task of creating man, which he did using clay. It was Prometheus’ piece de resistance, but Zeus was unimpressed. He was ‘meh’. And his indifference irritated Prometheus, driving a wedge between their relationship.
The strain of the relationship was evident at Mecone. When the gods and men were disputing with one another, Zeus ordered that man must sacrifice a portion of each food to the gods. Prometheus was outraged and decided that he would trick Zeus. He divided a bull into two parts and asked Zeus which portion of food should be sacrificed. Unbeknown to Zeus, Prometheus had wrapped the best parts and the intestines in the skin with the stomach dumped on top (making it look quite revolting). In the second pile Prometheus had placed the bull’s bones which were covered with fat. Zeus picked the bones (thus allowing man to eat the meat). Upon realising that he had been deceived, Zeus was furious and he ordered that fire should be withheld from man as punishment.
Prometheus knew that man would struggle to progress without fire and it pained him to see his children suffering. Unable to watch it any more, Prometheus did the unthinkable and stole fire from the gods to give to man. Zeus, so enraged by the betrayal, then condemned Prometheus to the most savage and cruel punishment he could think up; Prometheus would be chained to a rock in Scythia and have his liver eaten by an eagle. To make his suffering stretch further, each night his liver would magically restore itself, only for the eagle to return the following day. And so Prometheus sacrificed himself so that man could prosper.
Zeus didn’t stop with Prometheus though, he also punished man by creating Pandora and gifting her to Prometheus’ brother, Epimetheus (who had joined Prometheus during the Titanomachy and was now living with man). Prometheus had warned his brother not to accept any gifts from the gods, but such was the beauty of Pandora, Epimetheus could not resist. Pandora brought with her a jar and a warning that the jar should never be opened. Curiosity, however, overcame Pandora, and she opened the jar unleashing all of the evils into the world. Prometheus, tied to his rock, could only watch the pain and suffering of his children.
Despite that, and with the benefit of fire, man did prosper. Man learnt how to communicate and farm, develop societies and create rules and codes. Before long man’s attention turned away from the gods; they didn’t need them anymore and so the gods faded away. Unwanted. Unloved.
As for Prometheus, well Heracles eventually found him in chains on Mount Caucasus and – having obtained Zeus’ consent – killed the eagle and freed the Titan. It is there that his story comes to an abrupt end. For now.
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