A question I’ve been mulling over is whether AI’s role in our mythic journey a Pandora or Prometheus, first I wanted to examine the original myths. Last week, I explored Pandora’s Paradox: The Curse, the Gift, and the Mystery of Hope. And now Prometheus. He features in popular culture a lot, most recently in the Netflix series KAOS. So here’s my retelling of hid story.

The story of Prometheus is one of defiance, sacrifice, and the unbreakable spirit of resistance against tyranny—qualities that have made him a symbol of human creativity and rebellion across centuries.

Prometheus was one of the Titans, the primordial beings who ruled before the Olympian gods came to power. Unlike his Titan kin, Prometheus was a friend to humanity. He looked upon mortals with empathy and saw their struggles in a world often ruled by fear and darkness. Prometheus became their benefactor, teaching them various arts, sciences, and skills to elevate their condition. He taught them architecture, medicine, navigation, and most notably, he gave them the gift of fire.

But the gift of fire wasn’t a mere passing down of knowledge; it was an act of cosmic rebellion. Zeus, the king of the gods, had forbidden humans from possessing fire. In his eyes, fire was too powerful a tool for mortal beings and would make them too independent, too close to the gods in their capacity for creation and destruction. Yet Prometheus saw this differently. He believed that humanity deserved the chance to rise, to learn, and to create. So, he stole fire from the forge of Hephaestus, the god of craftsmanship, and carried it down to earth, igniting the first flame for humanity.

With fire, humanity experienced an awakening. They were no longer bound by the natural cycles of day and night or reliant on the mercy of the gods for warmth and food. Fire brought with it possibilities for invention, survival, and progress. It was the spark that allowed humans to dream beyond survival.

However, Zeus was furious when he discovered Prometheus’ transgression. For defying his orders, Zeus exacted a punishment that would serve as a cautionary tale for anyone—god or mortal—who might dare to defy him. He ordered that Prometheus be bound to a rock on Mount Caucasus, a remote and desolate place, where he would suffer daily torment. Each morning, an eagle, Zeus’s emblem of power, would swoop down and tear into Prometheus’ flesh, eating his liver—a particularly excruciating form of torture since the liver would regenerate overnight due to Prometheus’ immortality.

Yet Prometheus did not repent. His act of defiance was born out of love for humanity and a belief in their potential. His suffering became a kind of eternal protest against tyranny and cruelty. Bound but unbroken, Prometheus endured his punishment as a silent declaration that some things are worth suffering for, that some causes transcend even the godly order.

Interestingly, Prometheus’ story has a twist: he possessed knowledge of a prophecy that would one day threaten Zeus’s own rule. Zeus eventually struck a bargain with Prometheus, offering him freedom in exchange for this knowledge. In some versions, it is Hercules, Zeus’s son, who ultimately frees Prometheus as part of his own heroic journey, shooting down the eagle and shattering Prometheus’ chains. Thus, the god of foresight (for Prometheus’s name means “forethought”) was freed, though his tale of sacrifice and defiance left an indelible mark on the human spirit.

Prometheus has since been celebrated in art, literature, and philosophy as a champion of enlightenment and knowledge. His story echoes in the idea that knowledge is power and that some things are worth standing up for, even against the most formidable forces. Through his act of rebellion, Prometheus embodies the human spirit’s insatiable curiosity, creativity, and resistance against oppression—a story that reminds us that, in every age, there are those willing to suffer for the light they bring into the world.