Cox, George - Aryan Mythology Vol 2.pdf

208 MYTHOLOGY OF THE ARYAN NATIONS.
BOOK
II.
Prometheus
and
Pandora.
insult, according to the Hesiodic Theogony, Zeus avenged by
depriving men of fire—a sequel hopelessly at variance with
the ^iore genuine form of the myth as related by JEschylos.
But the name
connexion with
Metis and Medeia. '
Prometheus 1 suggested to the Greeks a
words springing from the same root with
It came, in short, to mean Forethought
or Providence, and thus they were led to its antithesis Epi-
metheus, Afterthought, and to exalt the one by framing a
story to illustrate the vanity of the other. This is as mani-
festly implied by the story of Pandora as the overreaching
of Zeus is patent in the institutional myth of the sacrifices.
Prometheus is the wise and cautious counsellor, whose
advice, if followed, will assuredly mitigate an evil or prevent
a catastrophe. As such, he had bidden men, and more
especially his brother Epimetheus, to be on their guard
against any gifts which might be offered to them by Zeus,
as their acceptance would be followed only by pain and
misery. But it was impossible thus to defeat the schemes
of Zeus or avert the doom of man. No sooner had Zeus
been tricked in the matter of the sacrificial victims than he
bade the fire-god Hephaistos mould of clay the figure of a
maiden, 2 into which Athene the dawn-goddess breathed the
breath of life, clothing her with silver raiment, while
is with the Hesiodic myth. These children
of men, who are described as being
unable either to see or hear, and as
clustering together like ants in their
sunless cares until they receive the
boon of fire and the blessings which
follow that gift, yet possess a knowledge
of things to come, and see most clearly
what is to be the course and the close of
their lives, 7rpo5ep/c€0-0cu fiopuv, before
Prometheus brings down for them the
heavenly fire. This power he takes
away from them, substituting blind
hopes or dreams in its place ; and when
he has added to this benefit the gift of
the fire, he then instructs them in divination,
thus supplying in a measure the
very knowledge which he had wished to
take away, and of which he had in fact
deprived them. The contradiction
could not be more complete.
1
It has been connected by Dr. Kuhn
with the Sanskrit Pramantha or churn
xised for kindling fire with dried pieces
of wood. The wood thus has reference
not to his wisdom but to his giving of
the fire ; and it was in this case a mere
resemblance of sound which led the
Greeks to explain the name as denoting
forethought. Hence Epimetheus is
strictly the result of a false etymology
and the process which brought him into
existence is illustrated by the language
of Pindar, Tyth. v. 25, who assigns to
Epimetheus a daughter Prophasis, Excuse,
the offspring of after-thought.
Grote, Hist. Gr. i. 102.
2 In the Finnish epic of Wainamoinen,
the smith is Ilmarinen, who makes, not
for others, but for himself, a wife of gold
and silver whom he brings to life after
vast (rouble, He finds however, that
that side of his body which has touched
the golden Bride is very cold in the
morning. Hence he is willing to turn
her over to AVainiimoinen, who, not
much relishing the gift, advises him
to take it to some place where gold is
in more request.