In Greek mythology, Prometheus was one of the Titans, a group of primordial deities which predated the Olympian gods and were eventually supplanted by them.
Overview[]
Whilst there are many tales of Prometheus, the most common states that he was the Titan responsible for the creation of man, achieving this by moulding the human race from clay.
Later, when Zeus led the Olympians and their allies in the war on their forebears known as the Titanomachy, Prometheus distanced himself from the conflict, and thereby managed to avoid being incarcerated in Tartarus along with the other Titans upon their defeat.
Subsequently, Prometheus defied an edict by Zeus and stole fire from the Gods, giving it to humankind and enabling them to progress as a civilised race. For this crime, he was chained to a great rock for all eternity, where every day an eagle - symbolic of Zeus and his justice - would descend from the heavens and consume his liver, which would regrow every night.