[pruh-mee-thee-uh
s, -thyoos] 
| a Titan, the father of Deucalion and brother of Atlas and Epimetheus, who taught humankind various arts and was sometimes said to have shaped humans out of clay and endowed them with the spark of life. For having stolen fire from Olympus and given it to humankind in defiance of Zeus, he was chained to a rock where an eagle daily tore at his liver, until he was finally released by Hercules. |
In classical mythology, the Titan who stole fire from the gods and gave it to humans. As punishment for the theft, Zeus ordered Prometheus chained to a rock and sent a great eagle to gnaw at the Titan's liver. Despite his torment, Prometheus refused to submit to Zeus' will. He was eventually rescued by Hercules.
Note: Prometheus has become a symbol of lonely and valiant resistance to authority. Aeschylus wrote a play, Prometheus Bound, and Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote a long poem entitled “Prometheus Unbound.”