In Greek mythology, Prometheus is a trickster character whose myth has inspired many artists and thinkers throughout history. In the original myth, Prometheus, a titan—the original group of gods in Greek mythology, later overthrown by Zeus and the Olympians—slights Zeus two times. First, Prometheus tricks Zeus into eating animal bones and fat and giving humans animal meat. This sets the precedent for animal sacrifice, where the humans would eat the meat and offer the bones and fat to the gods. Second, when Zeus takes fire away from humans, Prometheus steals the fire and returns it to the humans, bringing to them all the benefits and life that come with fire.

In retaliation for this, Zeus punishes Prometheus by chaining him to a mountain where an eagle comes every day to eat Prometheus’s liver. At night, the liver regrows, and the next day, the eagle returns. This gruesome punishment is in line with other Greek mythical punishments, such as that of Sisyphus and Tantalus. Later, the hero Heracles comes and frees Prometheus, but the titan’s legacy and importance to the Romantics was in his defiance of Zeus and in the punishment he received because of it.

The myth of Prometheus comes from two main sources.