Προμηθεύς
Πανδώρα
και
Επιμηθεύς
Charles
E. Mann
“Greek Myths and
their Art” 1907
Ελληνική Μυθολογία
Αρχαιογνωσία
PROMETHEUS
How many
years went by after Zeus became the great king we need not ask. We know that
there were as yet no human beings, and Prometheus, the forethinker, planning
for the days and years to come, looked down upon the earth from Mount Olympus.
He saw the beauty of this world, and heard its music. He knew that the animals
there could not appreciate beauty nor understand music. Neither could they talk
or laugh with one another, nor reason about anything.
"Surely,
the world is not yet complete," thought Prometheus. "There should be
a being greater than any yet made that can understand it all and learn how to
act wisely. These animals do things today as they did years ago. There should
be one who can show a spirit of progress, and who will do things better
tomorrow than he does today."
As time went
by and none of the gods created such a being, Prometheus decided that he
himself would try. He searched in all the clay-banks of the earth until he
found the finest material from which to form the new being, but he was not
satisfied with even this.
"To
understand the things of earth, he must have in his nature something greater
and higher than earth," said Prometheus. "I will take sparks of fire
from the altar on Olympus, the home of the gods." When he had mixed the
fire with the fine clay of earth, he shaped man after the image of the gods,
gave him life, power of thought and the upright form, that his look might be,
as was his thought, upward.
After
Prometheus had made man, he watched over him, but unhappily he did not see the
improvement he had hoped for. Man lived miserably in trees or caves, was in
constant fear of the fierce and powerful animals about him, went nearly naked,
shivered in the cold, and ate his food uncooked because he did not know how
either to make or to use a fire.
What should
Prometheus do? Furnish man with clothing, build houses for him and warm him with
fire, cook his food and furnish him with all comforts? Or give him some one
thing which he could learn to use and thus work out the things necessary for
their improvement? It would make a great difference. The first plan would make
human beings helpless, dependent entirely upon some one else, and the other
would make them industrious, self-reliant and happy. Prometheus did the wise
thing. He decided that if man had fire he could gain by his own efforts
whatever else he needed.
[ η κλοπή της φωτιάς ]
There was but
one place for Prometheus to get fire, and that was from the sacred altar of
Zeus on Olympus. He asked Zeus for the fire, but was told that if men were
given fire they would think themselves so strong and wise that they would no
longer fear or respect the gods. Prometheus still watched over them and waited,
but the suffering of men increased. Finally, becoming impatient by the delay,
he decided that it would be right to take the fire without the consent of Zeus.
He obtained
it, therefore, and gave it to men, and was filled with joy when he saw how
rapidly they improved.
[ η τιμωρία του
Προμηθέως ]
But Zeus saw
the fires on earth and easily guessed how they came there. He was greatly
angered and punished Prometheus by hurling a mountain upon him.
For many
years Prometheus lay under the mountain, and perhaps even Zeus may have
regretted his hasty action for, at last, wishing to know if Prometheus were
dead, he lifted the mountain from him. Prometheus not only was alive, but expressed
no regret at having taken the fire from Olympus.
[ το δώρο του Δία: η
Πανδώρα ]
Zeus now decided to treat
Prometheus with at least the appearance of gentleness. He ordered his most
cunning workman, Hephaestus, to make the most beautiful human form he could
imagine and bring it to Olympus. When this was done Zeus gave her life, and
each of the great ones gave her his choicest gift, whereby she received beauty,
wisdom, grace of manner, gentleness of speech, cunning, and other remarkable
qualities. Thus she became the beautiful, all-gifted Pandora.
Zeus then
told Hermes, his messenger, to take her, together with a box that she was not
to open without permission, as a present to Prometheus.
[ η άρνηση του Προμηθέα
να δεχθεί το δώρο του Δία ]
Prometheus may well have
been charmed by such a gift, but when he was told from whom Pandora came he had
too much forethought to accept the present, as he believed that it meant
trouble for him.
[ η τιμωρία του
Προμηθέα στον Καύκασο ]
When Hermes reported that
Prometheus had refused his beautiful present, Zeus was angrier than ever. Again
he called Hephaestus and commanded him to forge chains that could not be broken
and bind Prometheus to a great rock in the Caucasus Mountains, there to remain
until he should repent of his disobedience. Hephaestus loved the greathearted
Prometheus, but dared not disobey the commands of the powerful Zeus. A vulture
was sent each day to tear, with his sharp beak and claws, the flesh of the
uncomplaining victim.
Some of the
Greek story-tellers say, that while Prometheus was thus chained to a rock and
could not bestow his kindly care on men, they became very wicked. No man
regarded the rights of his neighbor, and most selfish and cruel things were constantly
done, until Zeus in his anger declared that all people should be destroyed.
[ o κατακλυσμός του Δευκαλίωνος
]
So Zeus sent
a great rain upon the earth that filled all the valleys and covered all the
mountains of Greece, and all the people were drowned except Deucalion (Δευκαλίων),
a son of Prometheus, and his wife, Pyrrha (Πύρρα),
a daughter of Epimetheus and Pandora. They were saved in a boat which they had
built by the advice of Prometheus.
The boat
stranded on a mountain top and after the flood had subsided they started down
the mountain side. They felt very lonely and began to wonder what they should
do for company, when there appeared a most beautiful person with a very good-natured
face and twinkling eyes, wearing a strange winged cap on his head and wings on
his heels, who said to them, "As you go down the mountain, throw the bones
of your mother over your shoulder."
It is not
strange that they should fail to understand such an absurd command, but when
they turned to ask what was meant, he was gone. They thought for some time and
finally remembered that they had once heard the earth called their mother. If
she were, why might not the stones be called her bones? Therefore, as they went
down the mountain they picked up stones and threw the mover their shoulders,
and when they looked back, behold! the stones thrown by Deucalion (Δευκαλίων)
had become strong men, and those thrown by Pyrrha (Πύρρα),
beautiful women. All these men and women were anxious to serve the two people
who had been saved from the flood.
Thus was the
world re-peopled. One of the sons of this pair was called Hellen (Έλλην),
and all the people were named from him, Hellenes (Έλληνες).
These were the people whom we now call Greeks.
In the
meantime, scorching suns and biting frosts followed each other until years had
passed, yet Prometheus, chained to the great rock in the mountains, endured all
with a quiet patience, knowing full well that unselfish kindness can never die,
and also that, in due time, there would come for him, from the children of men,
a great and noble hearted one who would break his chains and end his
sufferings.
[ Ο Ηρακλής
απευλεθερώνει τον Προμηθέα ]
And so it came about that in
good time the powerful hero, Heracles, bent upon great deeds, passed through
the Caucasus Mountains and saw the great forethinker, chained and suffering. He
heard the story, and the sympathy and indignation it awakened gave strength to
his arm. He broke the chains, and the unbound Prometheus went to the mighty
Zeus who was both great enough and just enough to admit that concerning men he
had been wrong, and had treated Prometheus too harshly. So, again these two
great ones of Olympus were at peace.
The people of
Greece, especially those at Athens, felt great love for Prometheus and built a
temple at Athens for his worship.
[ λαμπαδηδρομία ή λαμπαδηφορία ]
Near that
temple, they constructed a course where races were run in his honor. The prize,
however, was not given for fleetness alone, but for thoughtful care as well.
Each contestant was required to carry a lighted torch, and he who first reached
the goal with his torch still burning was the winner.
PANDORA AND EPIMETHEUS
In the story
of Prometheus we have learned how and why Pandora was created and what a
divinely gifted woman she was, and also that with her went a curiously
beautiful box. When Prometheus refused to receive Pandora and the box, Zeus may
have thought it would be some punishment to Prometheus to plague his
thoughtless brother, Epimetheus; at any rate, the same presents were offered to
Epimetheus and he, quite forgetful of the cautions of his brother, gladly
accepted them.
Like many
other newly made homes, everything went happily for some time, and might have
continued so, had it not been for that troublesome box. The happy couple had
been told by Hermes not to open it without permission; but as time passed.
Pandora became more and more eager to know what was in it.
One day,
while Epimetheus was away and Pandora had nothing to do, she sat down by the
box, perhaps to look at the beautiful pictures on its top. This seemed a very
innocent thing to do, but soon her fingers began playing with the magically
bright cord that fastened it. In some way that even Pandora never could
explain, it came untied. This frightened her very much at first, and she at
once set about trying to tie it again as it was before. Her anxiety increased
when she found that this was not an easy matter. Perhaps she was nervous and excited,
as others might have been in her place. Whatever the cause, she could not
fasten it, and soon began wondering what would happen if she were to take just
one peep into the box.
While Pandora
sat thinking it all over, with the box beside her and her fingers toying with
the edge of the lid, Epimetheus returned and stood in the doorway. He saw the
untied cord by the box, and it was easy enough to guess what was in Pandora's
mind. He should have warned her of her danger at once. But he neglected to do
so. Perhaps he knew it would do no good, but we more than suspect that he
himself had a secret wish to know what was in the box, and that he was trying
to persuade himself that he could not be blamed in any way if Pandora opened
it, though he were silently looking on.
Whatever his
thoughts may have been, he soon had enough to do. Though Pandora's fingers
raised the lid but the least trifle, there flew out a swarm of wicked insects,
each with a sharp sting in its tail. They stung both Pandora and Epimetheus until
they cried out in agony. The shock of the first pain must have been hard to
bear, but the sharpness of each sting was made keener by remembering that the
trouble was entirely of their own making.
It is not
surprising that, for a time, they were excited. Before they had recovered from
their surprise they were again astonished to hear a gentle tap on the under
side of the lid of the box. They stopped their outcry and looked in the
direction of the sound. Again they heard it, and immediately came the words,
spoken in the sweetest of tones, " Let me out."
Poor Pandora
could think only of the mischief she had already caused by raising that lid
ever so little. But the voice from the box went on pleading, " Please let
me out. I am Hope, and I will heal and never wound you."
Almost
without knowing it. Pandora's fingers again raised the lid of that curious box,
and out stepped one of the most beautiful beings the world has ever seen. Her
dress seemed made of materials as delicate and fleecy as the fringe of a sunset
cloud, and her wings seemed tinged by all the beautiful hues of the rainbow.
Her face had the tender sweetness of a mother's, and her eyes glowed with the
warmth of mellow sunshine.
Again she spoke
: " Let my fingers but touch the wounds made by sickness, disappointment
and sorrow, and the pain will lessen, disappointment and sorrow will be changed
to the strength that comes of patience and that finally brings peace. Wherever you
may be or whatever your need, call me, and I will be with you. I come from the
Immortals."
Pandora and
Epimetheus could smile again, and their happiness had a new meaning. They were much
comforted, and never, in the years that followed, did they forget the promise
of Hope, which they found her ever ready to redeem.
Charles E. Mann, “Greek Myths and their Art”, The Prang
Educational Company, New York, Chicago, 1907, pp. 16-26.
ΕΛΕΥΘΕΡΟΓΡΑΦΟΣ
[ ανάρτηση 17 Ιανουαρίου 2025 :
Προμηθεύς
Πανδώρα και Επιμηθεύς
Charles E. Mann
“Greek Myths and their Art” 1907
Ελληνική Μυθολογία
Αρχαιογνωσία ]
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