Of the myths that relate to the introduction of the first elements of civilisation among mankind by divine aid, there is none, except those already mentioned concerning Dionysus and Demeter, more celebrated than the story of Prometheus. The Titan Iapetus had, by Clymene, the daughter of Oceanus, four sons—the stout-hearted Atlas, the presumptuous Menœtius, the crafty Prometheus, and the foolish Epimetheus. With the name of Prometheus is linked the idea of the first commencement of civilisation among mankind by the introduction of fire. Prometheus is said to have stolen fire from heaven, and to have taught its use to man. By being employed for all the common purposes of daily life, however, this pure celestial element became polluted; whereupon Zeus visited the author of this sacrilege with a fearful punishment. He ordered Prometheus to be chained to a rock, where, during the day-time, an eagle devoured his liver (the seat of all evil desires), which always grew again during the night.
It is very difficult to see the origin of this series of legends, but the foundation seems to be the discovery of fire by man. At any rate, one word, closely resembling the name Prometheus, appears in India as the name of the stick used to produce fire by friction. If this be the case, we shall see in parts of the Greek legend instances of the ever-recurring principle, that when the real derivation of a word is lost, men try to give it an explanation by attaching it to the nearest word in the existing language (cf. the derivation of Pan mentioned p. [130]). When the notion of “forethought” had once been attached to his name, it would be natural to invent a complementary legend about his brother Epimetheus (afterthought).
The legend of Prometheus appears in its grandest form in Æschylus’ play, “Prometheus Bound.”
The idea that, together with the introduction of civilisation, many evils which were before unknown to man came into existence, is expressed in the myth of Pandora. Zeus determined to leave mankind in possession of Prometheus’ gift; but he ordered Hephæstus to make an image of a beautiful woman, which the gods then endowed with life and adorned with all kinds of gifts, whence she was called Pandora. Aphrodite bestowed on her the seductive charms that kindle love, Athene instructed her in every art, Hermes endued her with a smooth tongue and a crafty disposition, whilst the Seasons and Graces adorned her with flowers and fine dresses. Zeus then sent her, under the guidance of Hermes, to the foolish Epimetheus, who, in spite of the warning of his brother not to accept any present from Zeus, received Pandora and made her his wife. There was in the house of Epimetheus a closed jar, which he had been forbidden to open, and which contained all kinds of diseases and ills. Pandora removed the cover and these escaped, and men who had before been free from disease and care have ever since been tormented. Pandora closed the jar in time to keep in Hope. Thus both Greek legend and Biblical tradition alike represent woman as the first cause of evil and death.
The legend of the five ages of mankind transports us to quite another region of tradition. According to this, the gods first created a golden race of men, who lived free from care and sorrow, while the earth, of its own accord, furnished them with all that was necessary to support life. Subject neither to the infirmities of age nor to the pangs of sickness and disease, men at last sank peacefully, as into a sweet sleep, to death. In what manner the golden age disappeared is not related; we are only told that this race, notwithstanding its disappearance, still continues to exist in the upper world, in the shape of good spirits, who guard and protect mortals. After this, the gods created a second (silver) race of men, who were, however, far inferior to their predecessors, both in mind and body. They passed their time in idle and effeminate pursuits, and refused to pay the gods due honours. Zeus, in his wrath, thereupon blotted them out from the face of the earth, and created the third (brazen) race of mankind out of ash wood. This race proved headstrong and violent. They were of giant stature and great strength, and took pleasure in nothing but battle and strife. Their weapons, houses, and utensils were of bronze, iron not yet being known. Zeus was not compelled to destroy this evil race, since they destroyed themselves in their bloodthirsty strife. According to another account, they were destroyed by the flood of Deucalion.
Deucalion appears to have been a son of Prometheus, while his wife Pyrrha was the daughter of Epimetheus and Pandora. Zeus having determined to destroy the corrupt race of the third or bronze age by a flood, Prometheus warned his son, who built himself an ark, into which he retired with his wife when the waters began to rise. Nine days and nights he was tossed on the waters; at length his vessel rested on Mount Parnassus in Bœotia. He disembarked, and immediately offered a sacrifice of thanksgiving to Zeus the preserver. Pleased at his gratitude, Zeus granted his prayer for the restoration of the human race; and Deucalion and Pyrrha were commanded by Hermes to cast stones behind them, from which sprang a new race of men. Such is the legend in its most ancient form; later writers engrafted on it still farther incidents of Biblical tradition, until at last the Greek Noah was represented as having taken living animals with him into the ark, and as having let loose a dove after his landing on Parnassus.
III.—PROVINCIAL HEROIC LEGENDS.
1. The Lapithæ and the Centaurs.—We shall commence with the Thessalian legend of the Lapithæ and Centaurs, on account of its great antiquity and its importance in sculpture. We read in the Homeric poems how the hoary Nestor on one occasion boasts of having, in his younger days, taken part with his friends Pirithoüs and Cæneus, and the other princes of the Lapithæ, in their contest with the savage Centaurs. In Homer’s account the Centaurs are merely depicted as an old Thessalian mountain tribe of giant strength and savage ferocity, utterly unable to control their rude, sensual nature. Nor do we find here any mention of their being half horses and half men; they are merely said to have inhabited the mountain districts of Œta and Pelion, in Thessaly, and to have been driven thence by the Lapithæ into the higher mountain-lands of Pindus.
Their contest with the Lapithæ is sometimes conceived as a symbol of the struggle of Greek civilisation with the still existing barbarism of the early Pelasgian period. This may be the reason why Greek art, when in its bloom, devoted itself so especially to this subject. The origin of this contest is referred to the marriage feast of Pirithoüs and Hippodamia, to which the principal Centaurs had been invited. On this occasion the Centaur Eurytion, heated with wine, attempted to carry off the bride; this gave rise to a contest which, after dreadful losses on both sides, ended in the complete defeat of the Centaurs. The Centaurs, however, since they were thus able to sit with the Lapithæ at meat, must have been endowed with purely human forms.
Theseus and Nestor, the friends of Pirithoüs, both took part in the battle. Another prominent warrior was the gigantic Cæneus (Slayer), who had been rendered invulnerable by Poseidon, but whom the Centaurs slew on this occasion by burying him beneath a mass of trees and rocks.