Prometheus lent humans the gift of fire, and while the move he made had Zeus fuming, Prometheus never regretted his decision. Prometheus was unlike any of his counterparts on who lived on Mount Olympus; a God that cared about the events of the future, about the world the humans lived in, and about the people who lived on that world. He was disinterested in Godly matters, disinterested in the wonderful things that all the other gods seemed to enjoy. For Prometheus, the other gods were merely ignorant of what was happening to their people, and therefore, he wanted to make the world a better place for all. Prometheus saw that the human beings lived in harsh, cold conditions where the glory days of the past under King Kronos were long behind them. He realized that the harsh weather conditions could only be tackled through fire. Since his people were in need of fire the most, Prometheus took the matter to Zeus. Zeus turned down Prometheus's demand for fire, and this promoted Prometheus to take matter into his own hands. Carrying a stalk and a stolen spark from Zeus's lightning bolt, Prometheus finally gave the gift of fire and warmth to humans, and ended their suffering. Zeus, however, was not pleased with what Prometheus had done, and had Prometheus tied to the side of a mountain till the end of time. (Buckley, 2012)
Despite the harshness of the punishment levied on him by the King of Gods Zeus, Prometheus never regretted his decision to gift mankind with fire; his compassion overshadowed it all. After all, Prometheus, whose name translates into forethought, was a God that genuinely cared about his people. He did not have any liking for all the pleasures that the other God's on Mount Olympus enjoyed. Instead, Prometheus was more worried about what people were going through on planet Earth. Enduring harsh weather, extremely cold weather conditions, humans were forced to find shelter in caves. However, Prometheus knew that the caves were no match for the conditions, and wanted to provide people with a solution that would stay with them forever. Always the forward thinker, Prometheus knew that the only answer to the harsh conditions was in the form of fire, and to give that to the people, he was ready to do everything, which he did and suffered for. Regret, however, never came into Prometheus's mind. He knew that he had fought for a good cause, and it was fine to face the wrath of Zeus for that cause. In hindsight, Prometheus never really had to fight for the humans. After all, he too was a God and enjoyed the very pleasures that the other Gods did. Yet, Prometheus showed that it was necessary for the sustainability of mankind and for the betterment of their future that they are provided with an energy source that they could control. Prometheus's lack of concern for the punishment he was faced with was such that instead of crying out for mercy, he continued to taunt Zeus verbally, telling the King of Gods that he too would suffer, and suffer at the hands of his own son.
It is safe to say that Prometheus never regretted any decision he made. For him, his cause was all that mattered, and he was willing to go any length to fulfill it.
Works Cited
Buckley, Theodore Alois. Prometheus bound. Auckland: Floating Press, 2012. Print.
Dougherty, Carol. Prometheus. London: Routledge, 2006. Print.
Deary, Terry. The fire thief. Boston: Kingfisher, 2005. Print.
Richardson, I. M., and Robert Baxter. Prometheus and the story of fire. Mahwah, N.J.: Troll Associates, 1983. Print.
