Episode 10 Transcripts
About 2.5 million years ago our earliest of ancestors roamed across East Africa. About 70,000 years ago something happened to mankind. Nobody is quite sure what caused the shift. Some claim our ancestors found magic mushrooms (woah trippy, man), others claim that aliens from another galaxy interfered in our development (“I’m not gonna say it was aliens… but it was aliens”), or claim it to be the natural process of evolution (Science!). Regardless of the cause, homo sapiens as a species began a Cognitive Revolution that would snowball into the world as we now know it. The past is rife with myths and legends discussing how people came to be in this world. And today we will be looking at a few of the myths from our old friends, the ancient Greeks.
Howdy and welcome to episode 10 of the Plutarch Project. I’m your golden host Josh Nieubuurt and today we are delving into the creation of mankind according to the ancient greeks. Before we get to that we have a few announcements. First, we’d like to thank all those kind hearted souls who share our podcast, articles, and website. You guys and gals are really making all the difference and giving us the power to move onward. Second, we’re still running our giveaway. Right about now it looks like you have about a 1 in 30 chance to win one of two Amazon gift cards that we will be giving away on Dec 12th. Good luck to all those folks who have entered and thanks for your continued support. Alrighty then… It’s time to lace up your loafers, find your handiest and most comfy pillow, run your fingers through your beautiful hair and step waay waaay back into a time before man had existed.
We concluded last episode with Zeus conquering the Titans and becoming the sovereign leader of the gods. Zeus had imprisoned nearly all of the Titans in the dark depths of Tartarus. There were a few that changed their side and began warring alongside Zeus during the great war. Two of the Titans that survived are generally attributed to either creating the human race and/or giving them special tools to succeed in regards to life on earth.
These two lucky souls were Prometheus and Epimetheus. The ancient Greek creators of these two characters were particularly witty in choosing their names. Prometheus is Greek for “forethought”. He is a bit of a trickster who consistently outwits Zeus, giving himself and his creations benefits they otherwise wouldn’t have acquired. During the wars between the Titans and the-what would become the Olympian gods-Prometheus pleaded to use trickery in war. When the titans decided against it he switched sides and helped to turn the tide of the war. We’ll have much more to say on prometheus throughout this episode, so let’s take a quick look at his brother Epimetheus.
Epimetheus on the other hand translates literally to, after-thinker, though most people have translated it to “hindsight or afterthought.” These two have been attributed to dealing out each respective species’ distinguishing traits. So now that we have these two characters let’s take a look at some of the most prominent and well-known versions of the creation of mankind. Keep in mind that these are just a synopsis-kind of a cliff notes of mankind according to the ancient Greeks. There are literally dozens of ancient authors who spun the story according to their own place in time and artistic licenses.
According to some accounts it was Prometheus who created mankind. In the myth he took clay from Panopea and formed it into a shape similar to that of the gods. A bit of a side-note here, in past historical time periods the place where Prometheus allegedly took clay became a bit of a tourist attraction. People would be taken just outside of the place and shown petrified clay as proof of Prometheus’ deeds. Prometheus then took this clay to Athena who breathed life into them. After they became conscious he began teaching them mathematics, science, and all sorts of useful information. He did this due to the actions of his brother, Epimetheus. Epimetheus had been tasked with giving each animal it’s special gifts. He gave out sharp claws and teeth, night vision, speed and agility to various creatures. By the time he arrived at mankind he was plumb out of gifts to give. Prometheus took pity on these poor helpless creatures and allowed them to stand upright-like the gods, and gave them the knowledge necessary to survive in a world despite their advantages. Prometheus, seeing that they still had a rough time surviving in such a vicious world, decided to give them one more advantage-fire.
Some versions of the story of Prometheus giving fire to mankind say he took it from the heavens-others claim that he stole it from the forge of Hephaestus-the smithy of the gods. Either way he carried the fire from somewhere else down to earth using a dry, pithy stalk of fennel. It was this great advantage that took mankind from a lowly brute to what we have all become today-fashionably dressed brutes who take selfies. In these creation stories Prometheus appears as a culture-hero, inventor, and well-known figure in ancient Greek Mythology. He was the character that could quite often answer the question, “Where did such and such piece of knowledge or custom originate?”…
Perhaps we found ourselves as a contestant on some ancient version of Jeopardy-for those that don’t know it’s a very popular quiz show in the United States we would be able to answer all the questions we didn’t know by name dropping some god or goddesses name… and if you said Prometheus you had a good shot at persuading the judges- “Yes Alex, I’ll take where did it come from for $500… Where did the invention of—DING… Prometheus!-Let’s ask our judges… [doot do da loo]It looks like you are correct!”
How did this work out in ancient society? Well let’s take a look at another myth involving Prometheus. After the creation of mankind-keep in mind it was deemed mankind because they thought only men existed at this point- the Greek gods weren’t particularly big fans of them. In a lot of ways they were disturbed by how quickly humans were able to advance and mimic the powers of the gods. Zeus decreed that humans must give sacrifices to keep the gods happy. One of these sacrifices involved which parts of an animal sacrifice the gods receive. Prometheus was called upon to help decide on the matter.
Prometheus slayed an ox and seperated the delicious savory meat from the entrails and bones. He wrapped the bones in a delicious looking cover of fat. He placed the meat into a stomach and covered it with less-than-appetizing looking bits of the ox. He then placed both dishes in front of Zeus. Zeus quickly looked them over-without digging into them, of course- and chose the bones wrapped in savory looking coat of fat as the sacrifice the gods would receive. He gobbled it up, but was furious to find that inside was mostly bones. The humans were given the best parts of the animal to eat at the sacrificial banquets, while the gods got a bundle of fat and bones. Thank you Prometheus for giving us steak.
This myth helps to explain why the gods were given certain parts of the animal and not other parts. Greek mythology is rife with various social and cultural traditions being attributed to the Gods. If any of you have kids out there you’ll know it’s not always easy to come up with an answer to their curiosity. Next time that happens just tell them because Prometheus-or whoever is your go-to Greek god- made it that way.
Zeus was furious and plotted revenge upon mankind. We’ll come back to this momentarily because it feeds into one of the other popular myths regarding the origin of mankind.
In another version of the origin of humans the Greek gods were the makers of man. The first created man from Gold. These creatures were beloved by the gods. The earth gave them everything they needed to live in ease. The fields grew without toil, the flocks managed themselves, and there was no disease or sorrow in existence. When these golden men died they became pure spirits guarding over the remainder of their kin. This first experiment turned out well-but gold is a precious metal in limited supply. So they began experimenting with other metals.
Silver was next. These group was inferior to the goldmen. They were incredibly stupid and couldn’t help from accidently harming one another. When they passed away their spirits vanished into the void, never to be seen again.
Brass was the next experiment. These men were terrible to each other and violent to the extreme. They loved fighting and warring amongst each other. They loved the call of battle so much that they caused their own annihilation. These men were not considered to be a terrible existence. From within their ranks many heroic figures were born. They were adventurous and brave and faught magnificent wars amongst each other. Perhaps not what we would consider to be the best of all lives now, but in the past quite a few cultures honored those souls who left their mark on the world with the sword and the shield. After the last of the brass men had been slain they finally departed to the isle of the blessed, where they lived in bliss forevermore. Better than disappearing like a tuft of smoke from Zeus’ pipe- those poor silver men…
The 4th-and in some stories the final race of men-experiment of mankind finally arrived. And well it’s us. Some ancient greeks considered themselves and their descendants to be the final experiment of the gods- the iron men. The iron men were forged out of the impure evils of their own lot. The greeks considered them the most corrupt of the experiments. And being that would cause them to deal with a lot. They were to be inflicted with all the woes the previous experiments didn’t have to live through. And with each generation they were to grow worse and worse in their evil nature. The Greeks claimed that there would come a time when they worshipped power and might over the gods and even the little bit of good nature that had been siphoned down to them wouldn’t be enough to save them in the end. It was prophesied that they would eventually be destroyed by the gods. But we’re still here. Yee haw!
It’s at this point where both creation myths meet. Prometheus had stolen fire for mankind and tricked Zeus into getting the short end of the stick in regards to sacrifices. It was Zeus’s turn for some payback. Zeus set upon making the first of womankind. Bum-bum-buuuuum.
The myth goes that Hepheastus formed her out of clay, athena breathed life into her and dressed her in beautiful clothes, the Charites- minor goddesses attributes to charm, beauty, nature, human creativity, and fertility- gave her beautiful jewelry, the Horai- minor goddesses of the seasons and allotted time- wreathed her with flowers, Aphrodite gave her stunning beauty and an added dose of charm, And Hermes- the divine trickster that he was- taught her all kinds of guile and treachery. What a team effort, huh?
Zeus isn’t known to be the brightest of the gods, but he was cunning enough to know that Prometheus wouldn’t accept any gifts from him. so instead he first had this beautiful creature shown before all the gods and men. Then he gave her to Epimetheus to be his wife.
Who was this beautiful woman? None other than Pandora- her name meaning “the gift of all”. Edith hamilton describes her creation stating, “From her, the first woman, comes the race of women, who are an evil to men, with a nature to do evil.” Now, while I’m sure there are some folks out there that would agree to this notion of all women being evil, let’s just thank our lucky stars that this idea has changed over the course of time.
At first Epimetheus was not too keen on accepting this gift from Zeus. But, after seeing her great beauty he gave in and accepted- completely forgetting that Prometheus had forbidden him to accept any gifts from Zeus. Pandora came to like with Epimetheus and she was gifted a large trunk from the gods-but was sternly warned never to open it. Well, I think most of you know how this story goes already. But for those of you who don’t-curiosity got the best of her. One day, when she couldn’t handle the pangs of curiosity anymore she opened it. And from within the box all of the world’s evils that we now face sprung out from the box. She was only able to keep one thing inside the box-hope.
Now depending on your position this could be taken both ways. Hope being kept in the box means that people are still able to have hope even in the darkest of times. Or, coming from the other side, she was able to keep worthless hope at bay. giving mankind the choice to abandon reckless hope-hope that only hurts. This is rather comparable to the story of adam and eve-in which it is a woman who first breaks God’s decree. There seems to be a bit of a trend in ancient literature alluding to a woman’s curiosity and the evil that it can unleash. But, as I stated before I think it’s all a bunch of stuff better left to the rubbish bin of history. Anyways, in some versions of this myth Prometheus ends up taking Pandora as his wife and protecting her from the evils she unwittingly released on mankind. In others, well it’s kind of left up in the air as to what her fate was.
In yet another version of the mankind creation myth-which adds onto the previous one quite well- men are born from a race of stones after the iron men are destroyed and woman has come onto the scene. In the tale of Deluge, Zeus floods the earth with the help of his brother poseidon-the god of the sea, earthquakes, and for whatever reason horses. I don’t see the connection but maybe they did. The two of these gods drowned the earth killing all of its inhabitants- only Mt. Parnassus was not quite covered. Only the very tip of its summit remained above water. Prometheus had warned his son (Deucalion) and his neice Pyrrha (the niece being the daughter of Epimetheus and Pandora) that a flood was coming and that they should build a large chest and stay hidden safely inside until the rains ceased.
It rained for 9 days and 9 nights. The chest drifted over the waves until it came to the tippy top of Mt. Parnassus. There the two exited the trunk and looked over the flooded earth. Zeus saw them and took pity on them, for they were pious and faithful worshippers of the gods. Over the course of the next few days Zeus drained the waters for them. After the water had receded and the two made their way to the valley floor. They came upon a ruined temple covered in seaweed and muck. They thanked the gods for saving them. They heard a voice saying, “Veil your heads and cast behind you the bones of your mother.” They were puzzled by the request but eventually they discovered its meaning. Their mother was Gaia-nature or mother earth, and her bones were the stones of which she was comprised. They each began tossing stones over their shoulders and this is when the 5th race of man was born- the stone people. These people had to be hard and enduring- for the world was even more harsh than it had been in the time of the iron people. Here too we find another parallel between other “great flood” myths in ancient societies, including those of the Abrahamic traditions- I’m looking at you Noah.
Although Zeus spared his child he wasn’t finished with Prometheus. Punishing Prometheus’ creation wasn’t enough. He now planned to punish him personally. Hephaestus-perhaps still angry at prometheus for stealing some fire from his forge enlisted the help of Kratos-meaning strength and Bai- (meaning force). With their help they were able to capture and drag prometheus to a remote region of the Caucasus-which for those of you with limited geography knowledge is a mountain range separating eastern Europe from western Asia. They used a specially made chain rope and tied him to a rock. After tying him up they told him quote:
“Forever shall the intolerable present grind you down.
And he who will release you is not born.
Such fruit you reap for your man-loving ways.
A titan yourself, you did not dread Zeus’ anger,
But gave to mortals honor not their due.
And therefore you must guard this joyless rock-
No rest, no sleep, no moment’s respite.
Groans shall your speech be, lamentation your only words”(91)
Zeus had a double purpose in punishing him this way. First, he was tired of being outwitted and made a fool of by the cunning titan. He also became aware of the fact that Prometheus had come across the knowledge of who would overthrow him. Just as Zeus had overthrown Chronos, it was Zeus’ fate to be overthrown by one of his children. But Prometheus wouldn’t yeild so Hermes came to pay him a visit. hermes told him that if he would not submit the information Zeus wanted he would suffer an even greater fate. Prometheus replied, [quote]
“Go and persuade the sea wave not to break.
You will persuade me no more easily” [unquote](91)
So Hermes told him what he would now have to endure daily for generations to come, [quote]
“An eagle red with blood
Shall come, a guest unbidden to your banquet,
All day long he will tear to rags your body,
Feasting in fury on the blackened liver”[unquote] (92)
And so it came to be that Prometheus-tied to a stone- was torn to pieces and his liver devoured day after day-year after year for decades. From this point a few different endings exist in regards to the fate of Prometheus.
In one version Chiron the centaur sacrificed his life in order to free him. How and why isn’t really known. But with this ending Prometheus never yielded. He is hailed as a honorable rebel who stood up against injustice and the authority of tyrannical power.
In most classical sources it is Heracles-perhaps better known as Hercules (hercules hercules!) who saved him from such a terrible existence. It interesting to note that in the tale of Io and Prometheus told by both Aeschylus and Ovid leads up to Herekles releasing Prometheus from his punishment. Let’s take a quick look at this myth before finishing off with the fate of Prometheus.
To make a long story some after Prometheus had been chained to the rock a cow found him on top of the mountain. Although it wa a particularly beautiful cow it had the unique ability to talk as though it were a woman. The cow asked him who he was and where exactly she was. Prometheus knew who she was and spoke to her, [quote]
“I know you, girl, Inachus’ daughter, Io.
You made the god’s heart hot with love
And Hera hates you. She it is
Who drives you on this flight that never ends”[unquote](96)
Io had caught the lusty eye of Zeus. Although she refused him he kept attempting to woo her. In his final attempt he covered the land with a thick fog hiding himself and Io in the myst. Hera suspected the reason behind the abstract weather and began searching the heavens for Zeus. When she couldn’t find him she called the cloud off and found Zeus standing next to a beautiful milky white cow. Hera knew that Io had been changed into the form of a heifer and asked Zeus to give her this beautiful cow as a present. Zeus, fearing the jealousy of Hera, relinquished the cow. Hera, knowing that Zeus would attempt to reclaim her had Argus-the one hundred eyed giant- watch over her carefully. Zeus asked Hermes to find a way to kill Argus. Hermes came down from the heavens and took the shape of a shepherd. He played the flute as sweetly as it could be played. Argus hearing the sound called him closer and asked if he could play more. At times many of the eyes would close and sleep but never all of them at once. Hermes talked for ages and ages in the most drowsy and monotonous voice he could muster. Finally, he happened upon the story of Pan and how he had chased a nymph. When the nymph was just within grasp her sisters changed her into a tuft of wild reeds. Pan declaring that he should still have her, made her into a reed flute. Argus fell into a deep sleep with the conclusion of this tale. Hermes killed him and Io ran off. Hera later found his body and placed the eyes of Argus onto the feathers of peacocks, her favorite bird.
Hera was not finished with Io she send her fleas and gadflies to drive her ever onward and into a state of madness. The Ionian coast-where her journey had began was named after her. so was the Bosphorus, which means the, “ford of the cow.” Prometheus tried to comfort her and told her that one day she would reach the Nile and Zeus would again return her to human form. Her descendant would later be the great Herakles that would free Prometheus.
While searching for the apples of Hesperides Herekles found prometheus there among the mountains. He then slayed the eagle and set Prometheus free. In some myths Herakles was allowed to set Prometheus free because he finally yielded to the wishes of Zeus-
allowing him to forgo his marriage and hanky panky with Thetis- a beautiful sea nymph that courted both Zeus and Poseidon. Thetis, had she bore Zeus’ son, would be the mother of the god who overthrow Zeus and the Olympian gods. Zeus dogged a bullet in this version of the story. Though she would eventually bear the son Achilles who became famous due to his prowess as a warrior and the exploits of the Trojan war.
Prometheus began as a Titan. Though as time went of he was denigrated to the status of a god and then into a kind of folk hero. He was celebrated with torch races and several places claimed to hold his final remains. Regardless, Prometheus was a common favorite among ancient writers, causing many-often competing- narrative of who and what he was.
Even today in contemporary western society remnants of Prometheus remain with us. The ideas he encapsulates take the form of human ingenuity, the idea of taking a stand against greater tyrannical authority, and all the great and terrible uses of fire-including making mouthwatering BBQ steak.
We hope you enjoyed this episode. Thanks for listening and as always… Onward.
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sources:
Mythology-Edith Hamilton
A handbook of Greek Mythology-H.J. Rose
