Prometheus

* Prometheus, one of the Titans in Greek mythology, was the god of fire. A master craftsman considered the wisest of his race, he was credited with the creation of humans and with giving them fire and various types of skills and knowledge.. Prometheus created humans by shaping lumps of clay into small figures resembling the gods. Athena admired these figures and breathed on them, giving themlife. Zeus disliked the creatures, but he could not uncreate them. He did, however, confine them to the earth and denied them immortality…
* Prometheus had the task to determine how sacrifices had to be made to the gods. He cut up a bull and divided it into two portions. One contained the animal's flesh and skin, but they were filled with the bull's stomach, the least appetizing part of theanimal. The other consisted of the bones, wrapped in a layer of fat. Prometheus asked Zeus to choose a portion for himself, leaving the other for humans. Fooled by the appearance of the portions, Zeus chose the one containing the bones and fat. Prometheus thus ensured that humans got the best meat…
* Angered by this trick, Zeus punished humans by withholding fire from them so that they wouldhave to live in cold and darkness and eat meat raw. Prometheus promptly went to Olympus*, stole a spark of fire from Hephaestus, and carried it back to humans…When Zeus discovered what Prometheus had done, he swore revenge. He ordered Hephaestus to create a woman from clay, and he had the winds breathe life into her. Athena and other goddesses clothed the woman, whose name was Pandora…
* Zeussent Pandora as a gift to Prometheus's brother Epimetheus, who married her despite warnings from Prometheus not to accept any gift from Zeus. Pandora brought with her a box containing evil, disease, poverty, war, and other troubles. When Pandora opened the box, she released these sorrows into the world, and Zeus thus gained his revenge on humankind…
* Prometheus's Punishment. To punishPrometheus, Zeus chained the god to a rock on a mountain peak. Every day an eagle tore at Prometheus's body and ate his liver, and every night the liver grew back. Because Prometheus was immortal, he could not die. But he suffered endlessly. …
* Prometheus remained chained and in agony for thousands of years. The other gods begged Zeus to show mercy, but he refused. Finally, Zeus offered Prometheusfreedom if he would reveal a secret that only he knew. Prometheus told Zeus that the sea nymph Thetis would bear a son who would become greater than his father. This was important information. Both Zeus and his brother Poseidon* desired Thetis, but they arranged for her to marry a mortal so that her son would not pose a challenge to their power. …Zeus sent Hercules to shoot the eagle that tormentedPrometheus and to break the chains that bound him. After his years of suffering, Prometheus was free. To reward Hercules for his help, Prometheus advised him how to obtain the golden Apples of Hesperides, one of the 12 labors the famous hero had to accomplish…
* Legacy. The story of Prometheus's suffering and ultimate release from his torment has inspired artists and writers forcenturies….Prometheus has also been the subject of more modern works of art, music, and literature by such individuals as the composer Beethoven and the poets Byron, Shelley, and Longfellow.
* Frankenstein begins with a framing story. An explorer named Robert Walton has left the north coast of Russia and is on his way into the Arctic Ocean; Walton is writing letters to his sister in London and tells her howone day he saw a monstrous figure fleeing across the ice. A few days later, Walton rescues Victor Frankenstein from hypothermia and starvation. Frankenstein tells Walton the events that form the core of the novel, his creation of the Monster, and Walton relates them to his sister in epistolary form.
* Volume 1 is the story of Frankenstein's childhood in Geneva, and his studies at a...