Prometheus & Actions
What gift does Prometheus take to humans?
Fire
How does Zeus first respond when Prometheus questions him? (Give a short summary.)
He says man is happy in ignorance and refuses to change the decree; tells Prometheus to stop questioning.
After Prometheus gives them fire, what basic activity do people begin doing with food that they couldn’t before?
They begin cooking (searing meat) instead of eating it raw.
Who carries out Zeus’s order to bind Prometheus?
Zeus’s giant guards and Hephaestus made the chains (guards seize him).
How does Prometheus feel about Zeus’s treatment of humans? (One-word or short phrase.)
Angry, indignant, caring, dissatisfied with Zeus (answers may vary with evidence).
How does Prometheus get the fire from the sunrise?
He stretched a reed filled with dry fiber into the sunrise until it smoldered, then carried it in his tunic.
What reason does Zeus give for keeping humans without fire?
Every gift brings a penalty; with fire would come disease, warfare, old age, worry, and pride.
Name two tools or technologies mentioned in the text that people begin to make using fire.
Ploughs, keels (ships), swords/spears, helmets, chariots, forges—many possible answers.
Where is Prometheus taken and bound?
The Caucasus (a mountain peak).
What emotion does Zeus feel when he sees what humans have done with fire?
Rage (Zeus was full of rage).
What practical instruction does Prometheus give people about controlling fire?
Feed fire twigs until it’s proper size, then stop; use water to put it out if it escapes.
What two feelings or ideas about humans does Zeus say would make them dangerous if they had fire?
Pride (vaunting pride) and danger of storming Olympus / thinking themselves gods.
How do people initially react when they first see the fire? Describe one physical and one emotional reaction.
Physical: burning tongues, fear at first; Emotional: amazed, hungry, grateful.
What specific punishment does Zeus set for Prometheus while he is bound?
Bound with unbreakable chains; vultures tear at his belly and eat his liver forever.
How do the people’s feelings toward Prometheus change after he gives them fire? Use evidence from the text.
They go from fear to gratitude and awe; initially frightened, then thankful and eager to use fire.
Why does Prometheus keep bothering Zeus with questions? (What does he want Zeus to explain?)
He wants to know why Zeus refuses to give man fire and to challenge Zeus’s reasoning about keeping humans ignorant/happy.
After seeing what humans do with fire, what does Zeus first plan to do to the earth?
He plans to turn the earth into a cinder with a thunderbolt.
Give two examples from the text of how communities change after people learn to use fire.
Villages, walled towns, farms, ships with sails, forges, weapons—people come out of caves
How long does Prometheus remain bound until someone rescues him? (Use text wording to estimate.)
"Many centuries" — long time until Heracles rescues him.
Explain how Prometheus’s internal feelings (his care for humans) lead to an external action that develops the plot. Give one specific example.
Prometheus cares for humans → stealthily steals fire (external action) → humans change and Zeus punishes Prometheus (plot advances). Text evidence: he lay awake making plans; he stretched his arm to the eastern horizon; Zeus called his guards.
Describe one bold action Prometheus takes that shows he favors humans over Zeus.
He steals fire from the sunrise despite Zeus’s order; he secretly brings it to every cave.
Why does Zeus decide not to instantly destroy humanity but instead punish Prometheus?
He chooses vengeance and entertainment—he wants to watch humans destroy themselves and punishes Prometheus directly.
Explain how the gift of fire changed people’s relationship to nature and to each other (use details from the passage).
Fire lets people shape nature (forge tools, build shelter, travel), increases their skills and power, and leads to both advancement and potential for violence/conflict.
Who rescues Prometheus and what two actions does the rescuer take to free him?
Heracles climbs the peak, strikes the shackles from Prometheus, and kills the vultures.
Choose one character (Prometheus, Zeus, or the people). Analyze how that character’s internal thoughts or emotions cause events that move the story forward. Include at least two pieces of text evidence.
Prometheus’s compassion leads him to steal fire (evidence: paragraphs 10–13), which allows humans to advance (para. 14) and angers Zeus, leading to Prometheus’s punishment (paras. 15–16).