Zeus, Prometheus and the discovery of fire

Greek mythologies have many interesting stories which still amuse us. It has been our bedtime stories for centuries and helped various form of art and culture in many ways.  

According to myths, humans had trouble with the gods from the beginning. Most gods considered humans their toys. 

However, a few gods found themselves interested in the human race. Those gods made friends with the humans. Prometheus was one of those gods who liked humans and befriended them. 

The first humans created by the gods lived happily ever after. They thought the gods were wonderful and were very obedient to them. 

But their children were not the same. Very often, the children argued among themselves, and sometimes with the gods.

Zeus, the king of the gods, was very disappointed with mankind. He decided against giving mankind the most important tool - fire! Without fire, humans would not survive for long. 

On the other hand, Prometheus felt sorry for his human friends as he knew that fire was important for many things, including heating and cooking. Basically, human existence was dependent on fire. 

Prometheus tried to find a way to help humans. Consequently, the trickster stole a lightning bolt from Zeus and gave it to mankind. And that is how mankind discovered fire.

Zeus was furious with Prometheus. He ordered punishment for the saviour of mankind. Prometheus was chained to a rock for stealing the lightning bolt and for going behind his back to help the humans. 

To make his condition even more miserable, Zeus also sent storms to beat angry waves against Prometheus.

The god of thunder, Zeus made the sun shine really bright to burn his skin. Zeus found more cruel ways to torture Prometheus and sent an eagle to nibble at his body. It was quite a punishment for a god who had only tried to help mankind. 

What made Zeus so angry was that Prometheus had defied him.

A thousand year later, it was Hercules who finally released the helpless god from his chains. Many things changed meanwhile. Zeus started liking humans and found them entertaining. He no longer cared if anyone rescued Prometheus or not.
Humans also had changed a great deal over 1,000 years and they would always be grateful to Prometheus for his sacrifcies.