The Stories of Prometheus and of Adam and Eve

Introduction

There is an infinite of myths, stories, theories, scriptures, etc. on how humanity was created, and who created us. Based on the Greek Mythology we were created by Prometheus with the power of the gods like Zeus and Athena. But, based on the Bible that is for Christians, it says that God created heaven and earth, and the creator of humans. Also, along this journey of human creation had a lot of bumps and both of the myth ended up with a punishment that made is “mortals” and we have to work to be able to feed ourselves. The myth of Prometheus and the myth of Adam & Eve have very clear similarities and also a lot of differences, but the most important thing is the message behind both of the myths.

The Myth about Prometheus

Based on the Greek Mythology, before the creation of humanity there was a war between the Gods and the Titans that they were known to be giants. Almost all of the titans died or went to what is known the eternal hell. But one of the Titans named Prometheus, which in another words means “Foresight”, also his brother Epimetheus joined him to fight in the side of the Gods. Zeus was very proud of these two, Zeus gave trust to both to be in charge of the creation of all organisms (living things). Epimetheus, brother of Prometheus was in charge of creating organisms, for example give them the power of flight, the ability to breathe under water, and the capability of the use of legs to move and race. But Prometheus was given an important task, that was the “creation of humans”, Prometheus used lumps of clay, and shaped them to the spitting image of the gods. Athena admired the creation of the humans, so she blew on the clay and gave humans life although the humans were all the same, Zeus decided that the humans would have to remain mortal, he disliked the humans, but he could not make them disappear, also they would have to worship the gods. The humans are created in a matter that they would obey the gods without questions, they were vulnerable to anything surrounding them, they would have to depend on the gods to be guided and protected.

But after all this occurred, Prometheus wasn’t happy on how the gods were using humans. Prometheus had another mindset for the humans, that involves them for a greater purpose. In another chapter of this Mythology Zeus wanted Prometheus to decide how, who, when, and where to make sacrifices would be made. But Prometheus wasn’t boneheaded he decided to trick the gods, in which would ultimately benefit the humans. Prometheus went ahead and sacrificed a bull into two portions. Prometheus placed two bowls, the first bowl contained the most succulent and delicious flesh and skin, basically steaks, but on top of the “Steaks” he placed the unappealing Bulls stomach, which basically would make it the least appetizing part of the animal. The second bowl consisted of the pit of bones, but on top he put a thick rich layer of fat, which it looked a little bit better than the disgusting bull’s stomach. Later Prometheus made Zeus choose a bowl for himself and the other bowl was for the humans. Zeus ended up choosing the bones and the layers of fat. Let’s be honest, we would have done the same thing. So significantly the other portion was for the humans, which was the best part, we all like that juicy Sirloin Steak.

When Zeus noticed what was underneath the layer of thick fat, Zeus was outraged by the trick that Prometheus pulled on him. Based on the deception of Prometheus, Zeus made the humans accountable for it, Zeus punished the humans by taking fire away from them. You may ask: Why is that a big deal? The big deal is that overtime the only way they won’t freeze to death was making a bonfire to stay warm, then to be able to eat meat or a grain in an unsatisfactory way, and fire also worked as protection. But with fire gone it caused a huge chaos between civilizations. Prometheus was very angry for Zeus’s decision to this, he didn’t want to see his own creation be suffering like that, so Prometheus decided to climb Mount Olympus and steal a spark of fire from Hephaestus which was the god of fire and was also the locksmith for all the gods in Mount Olympus, and Prometheus brought it back safely for the people. When Prometheus gave back the humans the power of fire, it gave them the power to harness nature for their own benefit and finally it would let them to outweigh the natural order. Again, with fire they could cook, get warm, and protect themselves, so this means that humans were able to craft weapons, so this means to have availability to claim war. So basically, the act of Prometheus to return the fire to the humans, it gave humans a cause to ignite the rapid progression of civilization.

When Zeus noticed what was happening, he got angry for Prometheus going behind his back, so Zeus wanted revenge. Zeus ordered to make the first human woman, whose name would be Pandora. Pandora was delivered in form of a box to Epimetheus, but Prometheus warned him about not opening anything from Zeus. He didn’t listen to his brother, so when he noticed the beautiful woman, he ended up marrying her. Pandora had one mission, she needed to open a box when she got married to Epimetheus, but she buried it. When they got married, Pandora felt tempted, so she ended up opening the box that contained sorrows of the world like evil, disease, poverty and war. Then Zeus punished Prometheus by chaining him to a cliff for eternity, the catch is that he would be visited by a vulture that would eat his liver every day, and at night the liver would regenerate but it would happen the same thing every day again.

The Story of Adam and Eve

The bible is a recompilation of various sacred text and scriptures that are product of the relationship between God Almighty and humans. But everything starts with the Book of Genesis through the first five chapters, which talks about the creation of planet Earth and all living, obviously including humans. Based on the Bible, God created man of his image and likeness, also from a lump of clay, God decided to name it, Adam. Afterwards, God creates Eve from Adam’s rib, she is meant to be Adams wife. Both were innocent, they didn’t have any shame about being naked, they were instructed by God to multiple and serve him no matter what and be thankful for everything he has created for them. God placed Adam & Eve in the Garden of Eden, which allowed them to live freely, they anything from the garden, basically there was no harm possible that could come to hurt them. But, God had only one rule, it was to never eat from the tree the contained the knowledge of good and evil, and he warned them that if they eat it they would die.

One evening Satan came to Eve in the form of a serpent, and temped Eve to eat the only forbidden fruit in the garden. Eve reached out to eat the fruit, when she ate it did not kill her, she also convinced Adam to eat the forbidden fruit, and telling him that nothing would happen, Adam took a bite from the fruit, they didn’t know what was coming for them. For the first time in their lives they were afraid, afraid of what god might think or do with them. With great pain God had to throw them out of the Garden of Eden, because Adam & Eve brought good and evil to the world, with all that they brought SIN also. With sin it brought pain, sadness, sickness, and ultimately death. But after Adam & Eve where faced with their biggest challenge in life, which was to survive, they needed to work to survive, they needed to build a home for shelter, learn to grow food and hunt, protect from predators, but no matter if they do all these things well done, they would end up dying at some point.

The Similarities of the Stories

After a deep description about the Book of Genesis and the Mythology of Prometheus, both of these stories had a lot of similarities and a few facts that are hidden in the scriptures. I took the liberty to interview a Pastor, and we discussed from the first five chapters of the bible, he raised so many good points, that I would have to start a new paper. Putting everything a side we can start by saying that Pandora and Eve were created after men, maybe it could be because at that time women where inferior or even powerless compared to men, but another point is that both women were created by men; Pandora from Hephaestus and Eve from God with Adam’s rib. Also, both myths present that women are the key factor for the fall of humankind. In Prometheus Pandora’s mission was to marry Epimetheus and then willing to open a box that contained sorrows of the world like evil, disease, poverty and war and was spread through all over the world. The book of Genesis demonstrated that Eve was the one who bit the apple and unleashed the knowledge of good and evil, this was the result of losing the innocence and being ashamed of being naked, and they were kicked out of the Garden of Eden and if it wasn’t enough they became “mortals”.

Another point is that both myths demonstrate that humankind were attempting to get deliver all of what their gods demands. The “curse” that Adam and Eve had to go through like experiencing the torments of work, also they had Eve had to suffer through pregnancy, and striving to work hard to be able to be sustained are associated with similar “curses” that mankind needed to suffer due to Prometheus that tried to trick Zeus. For example, before going through all these horrors they were given every kind of stuff to survive, but know they had to hunt, risk their lives, going through the trouble of not finding food This foundation of agribusiness was a sign of separation among man and creature. This prevalence of man over creature is additionally found in Genesis when Adam names the creatures that divine beings conveys to him.

The Differences Between Two Stories

Be that as it may, there are likewise numerous contrasts between these two fantasies. Right off the bat, Eve was made from the rib of Adam as is made legitimately from a human. Nevertheless, Pandora was produced using the dirt of the earth and is in this way less human than Eve. Furthermore, Eve was made to be a buddy to man ‘It isn’t great that ought to be separated from everyone else, I will make him an assistance meet for him’ (Genesis 2:18) rather than this, Pandora was made to rebuff and obliterate man. Accordingly, Eve was the reason for the discipline, yet Pandora was the discipline.

Also, despite the fact that the character of the demon could be viewed just like the snake in the Genesis story and as Prometheus’s myth, there are contrasts in the measure of bravery that it would have taken to slight their definitive figures. The snake could be viewed as going out on a limb because of the obscure intensity of god which could be a transcendent figure. Be that as it may, Prometheus could be viewed as being more intrepid in light of the fact that he knew about Zeus’ capacity and despite the fact that he realized that Zeus had battled his way to the top, Prometheus still had the guts to proceed with the bull sacrifice trick.

In my personal opinion I do think there is a life lesson between these two myths, I am NOT a Christian person not because I don’t know who he is, just that I don’t agree with how humans are portraying it to the world. But Hebrew God is a God of Love. Why do I say? I say it because he created humankind to his own image, but he desired to make us, and based on the Bible God “created” this wonderful planet for us to enjoy and protect. But also, he wanted us to live free and don’t think about anything else, but there was a catch, Adam & Eve could consume anything in the Garden of Eden but there was tree in the middle that contained the forbidden fruit, but Eve felt tempted and ate it. God noticed that and he kicked them out of the Garden because they disobeyed him, but God wanted for them to understand what they had done, he didn’t make them feel small or wanted to get rid of them, he gave them trust But in difference of Zeus, Zeus was a war god, he was angry all the time. When humans were created, he didn’t like them, when Prometheus tricked him, he basically took the humans hostages with no intention of helping them.

Conclusion

In conclusion, there is no certainty that any of this ever happened, but between these myths there is a lot to learn either if it’s for yourself or for your family. Sometimes we want to do things that will benefit others, but it will affect a higher self, it all depends on the reason why you are doing these things and what sacrifices may come in the future. In regards of both of the myths God didn’t control us, but he did want us to learn to obey, but we didn’t and there were repercussions about it. But with Zeus, he wanted to control the humans, and make them serve and follow him blindly, but when Prometheus stole back the fire, when Zeus took it from them, it was an act of rebellion.