The Titan Who Championed Mankind
In ancient Greek lore, Prometheus was one of the Titan – the divine beings who dominated the world before the Olympian gods. His name means “foresight”, and emphasizes his intellect. Lore credits him with creating humans from clay, and he advocated for and championed mankind in the halls of heavens. That fondness for humans got Prometheus in serious trouble with the gods. The Titans, twelve children of the primordial parents Uranus (“Sky”) and his mother Gaia (“Earth”) had preceded the Olympians as gods. When the Olympians led by Zeus rose up to challenge for mastery of the world, Prometheus was one of the Titans’ leaders.
However, his fellow Titans refused to heed his advice and resort to trickery, so Prometheus switched sides and joined the Olympians. That ensured the gods’ victory, and doomed the Titans to defeat. Although he had helped the Olympian gods secure victory, Prometheus eroded his store of goodwill with them when he sided with humans against the new deities. He angered Zeus when he tricked him to accept the bones and fat of sacrificial animals instead of their meat. That set a precedent that allowed humans to sacrifice animals to the gods by burning their bones and fat, but keep keep the meat for themselves.
