Before the creation of humanity, the Greek gods won a great battle against a race of giants called the Titans.
Most Titans were destroyed or driven to the eternal hell of Tartarus.
But the Titan Prometheus, whose name means foresight, persuaded his brother Epimetheus to fight with him on the side of the gods.
As thanks, Zeus entrusted the brothers with the task of creating all living things.
Epimetheus was to distribute the gifts of the gods among the creatures.
To some, he gave flight; to others, the ability to move through water or race through grass.
He gave the beasts glittering scales, soft fur, and sharp claws.
Meanwhile, Prometheus shaped the first humans out of mud.
He formed them in the image of the gods, but Zeus decreed they were to remain mortal and worship the inhabitants of Mount Olympus from below.
Zeus deemed humans subservient creatures vulnerable to the elements and dependent on the gods for protection.
