The Works of Plato

"Well, Socrates, I will not be stingy," he said. "But in what way shall I show you? Shall I tell you, as an elder to a younger man, a myth, or shall I lay it out in an argument?"

Many of those present replied that he should present it as he wished.

"Well then, it seems to me," he says, "it will be more pleasant to tell you a myth."

XI. There was once a time when the gods existed, but mortal races did not. When the appointed time for their birth arrived, the gods formed them inside the earth from earth and fire, having mixed in those things which are blended with fire and earth. When they wished to bring them into the light, they ordered Prometheus and Epimetheus to arrange them and distribute to each race the appropriate powers. Epimetheus asked Prometheus to be the one to distribute, saying, "When I have distributed, you look them over." Having persuaded him in this way, he performed the distribution. To some creatures, he allotted strength without speed; he provided the weaker ones with speed. He armed some, while to others, having given an unarmed nature, he adapted some other kind of power for their survival. To those he clothed with smallness, he granted flight or a subterranean dwelling, while he saved those he grew in size by that very quality; and he equalized and distributed the others in this way. He arranged them this way for fear that any race might disappear. After he provided them with ways to avoid mutual destruction, he arranged protective measures for them against the weather sent by the gods, clothing them in thick hair and heavy skins sufficient for protection against winter cold and summer heat, and also so that when they rested, each would have their own natural bedding. He shod some with hooves, others with thick and bloodless skin. Then he invented different food for different races—herbs from the earth for some, fruits of trees for others, and roots for others; and to some he gave to feed on the flesh of other animals. To some he granted low fertility, and to those hunted by them, high fertility, in order to save the race. Now, since Epimetheus was not very wise, he did not notice that he had already distributed all the powers; the human race was still left unendowed, and he was at a loss as to what to do. While he was at a loss, Prometheus came to inspect the distribution and saw that the other animals were well-equipped in every way, but man was naked, unshod, without bedding, and without weapons. The day appointed by fate had already arrived when man was to go forth from the earth into the light. At a loss as to what salvation he could find for man, Prometheus steals the artistic wisdom of Hephaestus and Athena, together with fire—since it was impossible for anyone to possess or use it without fire—and in this way, he endows man. Thus, man received the wisdom necessary for life, but not the political wisdom, because it was with Zeus. Prometheus could no longer enter the upper city, the dwelling of Zeus—and the guards of Zeus were frightening; but he sneaks into the common workshop of Hephaestus and Athena, where they practiced their arts, and having stolen the fire-breathing craftsmanship of Hephaestus and the other of Athena, he gives them to man—whence come the conveniences of life for man. As for Prometheus, he was later, they say, overtaken by retribution for the theft.