Prometheus in Greek Mythology

Prometheus is famous for a couple of seemingly unrelated stories: (1) the gift of fire to mankind and (2) being chained to a rock where every day an eagle came to eat his liver. There is a connection, however, and one that shows why Prometheus, the father of the Greek Noah, was called the benefactor of mankind.

Prometheus - Gift of Fire to Mankind

Zeus sent most of the Titans to Tartarus [see Hades' Realm] to punish them for fighting against him in the Titanomachy, but since second-generation Titan Prometheus had not sided with his aunts, uncles, and brother Atlas, Zeus spared him. Zeus then assigned Prometheus the task of forming man from water and earth, which Prometheus did, but in the process, became fonder of men than Zeus had anticipated. 

Titanomachy and Gigantomachy

What happened immediately after [Kronos regurgitated his children] is not clear, but the war between the gods and Titans - the Titanomachy - soon begins. Unfortunately the epic poem of that name, which would have told us much, is lost. The first complete account we have is in Apollodorus (which was probably written in the 1st century A.D.).

Some of the children of the other Titans - such as Iapetos' son Menoetius - fought alongside their forebears. Others - including Iapetos' other children Prometheus and Epimetheus - did not.

Who Were the Nephilim?

The Nephilim (Hebrew: נפלים, Nefilīm) were a race that came to dominate the antediluvian (pre-flood) world, and are referred to in the Bible as the heroes of old, men of renown. They were reportedly the children born to the "Sons of God" by the "daughters of men", and are described as giants. It is also most important to note that they are mentioned almost simultaneous to God's statement that He would destroy the earth by flood, and it seems from this association that their effect upon mankind was one of the primary justifications that brought the destruction.

Hesiod and the Bestiary

For this week's Myth Monday, inspired by Michael K. Kellogg's chapter on Hesiod, from his delightful The Greek Search for Wisdom, I wanted to give the Hesiodic spin on the bulk of the monsters from Greek mythology. Then came another round (see : last week's Myth Monday) of The Clash of the Titans on television, and my plans were postponed -- I thought. The movie showed the Hero Who Looks Away (my nickname for Perseus) decapitating Medusa, but Pegasus and his brother failed to emerge from the severed neck. I figured I had to say something about that this week.

Ocean subteran descoperit pe Titan, cel mai mare satelit al lui Saturn

Oamenii de ştiinţă au reuşit să descopere dovezi privitoare la existenţa unui ocean subteran pe Titan, cel mai mare satelit al Saturnului, relatează Le Monde şi agenţiile de presă, citând un recent studiu apărut în ultimul număr al revistei Science.

Examinând datele obţinute în decursul a şase misiuni efectuate de sonda Cassini între 2004 şi 2011 şi analizând înclinarea axei de rotaţie a satelitului, precum şi unele caracteristici de mişcare ale acestuia pe orbită, un grup de astrofizicieni sub conducerea lui Rose-Marie Baland, de la Observatorul Regal din Bruxelles, a observat că Titan se roteşte pe o orbită eliptică şi se confruntă în mod constant cu forţele mareice ale lui Saturn.