Prometheus

'Prometheus' 17th Century, Dirck van Baburen

In Greek mythology, Prometheus, or Prometheas ("forethought") is the Titan who stole fire from the gods and brought it to mortals for their use. He further irritated Zeus by offering the gods in settlement burnt sacrifice of the less appetizing portions of the sacrificial animals. As punishment, he was chained to a rock in the Caucasus where a vulture or an eagle named Ethon would eat out his liver; it would grow back each day and the vulture would eat it again. Eventually he was freed by Heracles and returned to Olympus. As the introducer of fire and inventor of sacrifice he is seen as the patron of human civilization. Uncertain sources claim he was worshipped in ancient Rome.

He was the father of Deucalion with Celaeno. Epimetheus, the husband of Pandora, is his brother.

The god Loki in Norse mythology shares several aspects with Prometheus: disobedient, a giant rather than a god, he was closely associated with fire (a fire god), and he was punished by being chained to a rock and tormented by an animal (but in Loki's case a viper dropped venom on his face).

The motif is believed, by some, to have been borrowed from the Nart sagas of the Caucasian peoples, but the analogies with Loki seem to reveal an older Indo-European source. The chaining of Prometheus to the rock was by some ancient writers compared to a crucifixion.

The cloned horse Prometea and Prometheus, a moon of Saturn, are named after this Titan, as is the asteroid 1809 Prometheus.