What is a Human Being According to Greek Mythology?
What is a human being and how were they made?
If you ask modern science, they’ll give an impressive chronicle of Darwinian evolution through the process of natural selection as an account for the origins of human beings. If you consult Western tradition, you’ll probably hear the story of Adam and Eve, the first people according to Abrahamic scripture. As significant as both these explanations are, I’d like to direct your attention to the ancient Mediterranean. One of the most insightful and little known origin stories of human beings is found in Greek mythology.
When people think of humans in Greek mythology, they typically recall the legendary tale describing the delivery of fire by Prometheus. What isn’t as popular is the story accounting for the creation of human beings.
“Prometheus shaped man out of mud, and Athena breathed life into his clay figure.”
Although this may be entertaining as for as stories go, I suspect this story suggests a deeper argument about human nature. The Greeks didn’t just create their gods for entertainment, but to account for the world and the natural forces that govern it. Greek mythology seems to suggest that humans are specifically created from Prometheus and Athena. If the Greek gods are abstract representations of the natural world, why was it Prometheus and Athena who created human beings? And what does this say about how the Greeks understood human nature?
Prometheus was known as the wisest Titan. His name translates to “forethought” and he was able to foretell the future. He’s associated with fire and the advancement of humanity. Prometheus is also symbolic of scientific knowledge, reason, and intellect. With enough knowledge and a scientific understanding of the natural world, one might as well have “forethought” as they’re able to predict the way the world works. This is the divine force that fashioned humanity from the mud, which further reinforces its association with science. Symbolically speaking, this isn’t far off from modern science’s material account for human beings.
Although Prometheus created humans from clay, it was Athena who gave the breath of life. What does Athena represent? “She is fierce and brave in battle but, only wars to defend the state and home from outside enemies. She is the goddess of the city, handicrafts, and agriculture. She invented the bridle, which permitted man to tame horses, the trumpet, the flute, the pot, the rake, the plow, the yoke, the ship, and the chariot. She is the embodiment of wisdom, reason, and purity.” Along with these “she is the goddess wisdom, courage, inspiration, civilization, law and justice, strategic warfare, mathematics, strength, strategy, the arts, crafts, and skill.” There’s an underlying essence that these symbols of Athena all share. Essentially, Athena represents the spirit that underlies human civilization.
Now recall the creation of human beings once again. Humans were made from clay by Prometheus, and given the breath of life by Athena. Given what both gods represent, this origin story suggests that the essence of a human being is made from the spirits of Prometheus and Athena. Human beings are characterized by our intellectual and rational faculties, and driven by our passions and social impulses that produce human civilization. To be human is to be crafted by Prometheus and receive the breath of life from Athena. Not only does this account from Greek mythology describe what we are, but it also reminds us of what we should strive to be.
