How Prometheus Made Mankind|普罗米修斯如何造人

by Olivia Wycech

There is more to the name Prometheus than a blockbuster movie.

We may never truly know how man was created, but there are certainly many theories to be explored. One story that has recently gained popularity with a movie released under the same name is the legend of Prometheus, who in Greek mythology is credited with having created man from clay.

Prometheus, which means forethought as he was forever thinking of the future, was the son of a Titan. After engaging in a war with the Olympians, all of the Titans were sent to prison, except for Prometheus and his brother Epimetheus, which means afterthought since he was always dwelling on the past. The brothers were instead assigned the task of creating man and animals.

According to the myth, Prometheus molded man from clay, and the goddess Athena breathed life into the clay figure. Zeus, the king of the Olympian gods, felt threatened by mankind and took fire away from them. Man suffered greatly, so Prometheus stole fire back from Zeus and returned it to mankind. As punishment for this act, Prometheus was banished to a mountain, where he was chained to a rock to live out eternity. Every day, an enormous eagle was sent to feed on his liver, and since Prometheus was immortal, his liver would grow back before the eagle returned to feast the following day. Some stories say Prometheus spent 30 years there, while others say it was 1,000, but even more discrepancies exist between the stories of how Prometheus was freed. The most popular version is that Hercules, the son of Zeus, freed Prometheus by slaying the eagle and unbinding him.

    1.     Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?

(A) The movie Prometheus is about the Greek god with the same name.

(B) Greek mythologies are best suited for children.

(C) The story of Prometheus aims to teach people about the consequences of stealing.

(D) Greek mythology offers alternate explanations for the creation of the world.

    2.     Which quality would NOT be used to describe Prometheus?

(A) Courageous.

(B) Bold.

(C) Greedy.

(D) Kind.

    3.     Which of the following is true about Zeus?

(A) He was worried that man would become too powerful.

(B) His children were angry and turned against him.

(C) He was concerned that Prometheus would replace him as king.

(D) He hated mankind.

    4.     Why was Prometheus chained to a rock on a mountain?

(A) He was punished for being greedy and stealing.

(B) Zeus wanted to punish the Titans, so he banished him.

(C) Zeus was angry that mankind had been given fire.

(D) Zeus' malnourished eagle was hungry.

普罗米修斯如何造人

《普罗米修斯》不光是一部卖座电影，这个名字大有来头。

我们可能永远无法确切知道人类是如何被创造出来的，但肯定还有许多理论值得去探索。普罗米修斯的传说最近随着同名电影上映变成了一个很受欢迎的故事，他在希腊神话中被归功为那位从泥土创造出人类的神明。

普罗米修斯是泰坦之子，普罗米修斯这个名字的意思是指深谋远虑，因为他一直考虑着未来。参与了奥林匹斯山众神战役之后，所有泰坦家族的人除了普罗米修斯及他的兄弟厄庇米修斯以外都被关进了监狱，厄庇米修斯指的是事后的想法，因为他老是惦记着过去。他们兄弟俩没被关入牢中，反而被指派了创造人类及动物的工作。

根据神话，普罗米修斯将黏土塑造成人形，而女神阿西娜为泥人注入生命。众神之王──宙斯，对人类倍感威胁而将火从人类手中夺走。人类遭受极大的痛苦，所以普罗米修斯从宙斯那里把火偷回来，还给人类。为了惩戒普罗米修斯这样的举动，他被放逐到山中，被拴在一颗岩石上并永远待在那里。一只巨鹰每天都被派去吃普罗米修斯的肝脏，因为普罗米修斯是不死的，他的肝脏会在翌日巨鹰去享用前就重新长回来。有些故事说普罗米修斯在那里待了30 年，也有人说是 1 千年，但是他是如何获得释放的，有关这点的说法莫衷一是。最普遍的解释就是宙斯的儿子海克力士将巨鹰杀死才得以松开普罗米修斯身上的锁炼。

答案：  1.  D   2.  C   3.  A   4.  C

希腊神话即口头或文字上一切有关古希腊人的神、英雄、自然和宇宙历史的神话。希腊神话是古希腊宗教的组成部份之一。现代的学者更倾向于研究神话，因为其实际上反映了古希腊的宗教和政治制度、文明以及这些神话产生的本质原因。一些神学家甚至认为古希腊人创造这些神话是为了解释他们所遇到的所有事件。

希腊神话涵盖大量传说故事，其中很多都透过希腊艺术品来表现，比如古希腊的陶器绘画和浮雕艺术。这些传说意在解释世界的本源和讲述众神和英雄们的生活和冒险，以及对当时生物的特殊看法。这些神话开始于口耳相传，今日所知的希腊神话或传说大多来源于古希腊文学。（数据源：维基百科）