Who stole fire from Zeus?

• A. Epimetheus
• B. Prometheus
• C. Typhon
• D. Atlas

Answer: (B)

Prometheus embodies ingenuity and a concern for humanity. He steals fire from Zeus to give people warmth, light, and the ability to cook and work metal—essential tools that fuel civilization. Zeus had withheld fire to keep humans dependent or to curb their progress, but Prometheus disobeyed and brought it to mankind anyway. As punishment, Zeus binds him to a rock where an eagle comes each day to eat his liver, and it regrows so the torment continues. Epimetheus, his brother, isn’t the thief; he’s connected to Pandora and other later myths. Typhon is a monstrous challenger to Zeus, not the thief of fire, and Atlas is the Titan condemned to hold up the sky after the Titanomachy. So the figure who stole fire from Zeus is Prometheus.