(Greek Mythology) Abyss of the Underworld
Chapter 75
Every time humanity was wiped out, the King of the Gods faced the same problem:
How exactly do you convince someone else to help you recreate mankind?
Yes — as a god of thunder, Zeus shared an unfortunate similarity with his father, the space god Cronus: neither of them had ever unlocked the "Creation" skill.
And Zeus's situation was even worse. Many years earlier, the Earth Goddess Gaia had essentially gone on strike, and the God of Growth, Kerdans, had disappeared without a trace. Unlike Cronus, Zeus didn't even have a brother with creative powers to rely on.
So lately Zeus had been brooding inside his divine palace, so troubled that he didn't even feel like going out to chase after lovers.
#Destroying humanity feels great in the moment, but afterward comes the disaster cleanup — Your Majesty, why did you have to court death like that?
#You wiped them out before even arranging the aftermath — are you stupid, stubborn, or just plain stupid?
#Your Majesty, can we negotiate? You really don't need to imitate your father in this regard. Seriously.
After months of careful selection, Zeus finally forced the responsibility for creating humanity onto Prometheus.
Zeus: "Young man, I see great potential in you. Your talents are extraordinary — you're destined for greatness. To train you properly, I'm entrusting you with this important mission."
Prometheus: …
Although the responsibility had been dumped on him without consent, Prometheus did possess the trait of a benevolent savior. So despite his hesitation, he ultimately accepted the task.
The Forethinker Prometheus came to the land beneath the blue sky and in the midst of the sea — the Earth itself. At that time, the world was covered in flowers and wild grasses. Animals of every kind roamed freely, and birds built nests in the trees and sang in the air.
Only one thing was missing — the humans who were meant to rule the earth.
Please don't ask why humanity had been completely wiped out while the animals were still alive. I don't know either.
Prometheus came to a riverbank and gathered a large lump of clay. He scooped water from the river with his hands and mixed it into the earth until it became soft and workable. Then, modeling the form after the gods, he shaped the clay into a human figure.
The whole scene strongly resembled the legend of Nuwa molding humans from clay.
I absolutely was not imagining a female version of Prometheus while writing this — you must believe me. Just look at my serious and upright expression.
The little clay figure delighted him, so he happily shaped many more just like it. Then he gathered the qualities of good and evil from the hearts of animals and sealed these traits within the chests of humans.
Wait — this is becoming even more similar. Prometheus, where did you get all this maternal instinct? Does your father know about this?
Although Prometheus created humans from clay, he was not truly a god of creation. Even with his great intelligence and reputation as the Foreseer, he could not change the fact that the humans he made possessed only half of true life.
Fortunately, he received help from his friend, the Goddess of Wisdom Athena. She breathed the divine breath of life into their mouths, granting them intelligence and reason — and only then did they become real humans.
However, something seemed to have gone wrong during creation. These humans were nothing like their predecessors. They knew almost nothing — they lacked even the most basic survival skills such as hunting or farming. Combined with the naturally fragile bodies of humans, their chances of survival were deeply uncertain.
So Prometheus personally cared for them, patiently teaching them every skill necessary for life and providing tools to ease their hardships.
But this wasn't the real problem.
The real problem was that these humans were far less devout in their faith than earlier generations.
The gods were outraged.
After all, they created humanity for the power of belief. If humans weren't devout, what was the point?
Gods: "Prometheus, what kind of humans did you even make? These are defective products!"
Prometheus: "And whose fault is that? If you think you can do better, go ahead. Otherwise, be quiet."
Gods: … (Speechless — because they really couldn't do better.)
The gods who had previously created humanity had either withdrawn or disappeared, making it impossible to call on them for help. So the gods reluctantly accepted this imperfect generation.
Flawed or not, humans were still better than no humans at all.
Concerned about the issue of faith, and eager to establish their supreme authority, the gods demanded that humanity worship them in exchange for divine protection.
Or, to put it more bluntly:
The gods were threatening humans — either believe in us, or die.
In the Greek city of Mecone, gods and humans gathered for an assembly to determine the rights and obligations of mankind.
Perhaps because he had created humans with his own hands and devoted so much effort to guiding them, Prometheus had grown deeply attached to them.
Thus, although he attended the assembly, he did so as humanity's protector. He even argued that the gods should not impose excessive burdens on humans merely because they provided protection.
The other gods responded with cold amusement, looking at Prometheus as if he had lost his mind.
Prometheus, wake up. Do you remember you're a god?
A perfectly respectable deity choosing to stand with humans — are you insane?
Surely the stress of creating humanity had finally driven him mad. The gods nodded among themselves, convinced they understood the situation, and looked upon poor Prometheus with sympathetic pity.
Don't worry. We understand. Go rest, take your medicine, and get treated. Once you recover, we'll still be friends.
Unfortunately, Prometheus's way of thinking was clearly different from that of other gods. Among beings who considered indifference normal, he alone possessed a compassionate heart willing to sacrifice for others and save all living things.
So he refused the metaphorical medicine and insisted there was nothing wrong with him.
From each side's perspective, their views of one another could be summed up as:
I see you all as strange — and you must see me the same way.
Their incompatible values eventually led to consequences.
When the time came to divide the sacrificial offerings, Prometheus manipulated the arrangement. He slaughtered an ox and separated it into two piles. Beneath one heap of ox hide lay the meat, organs, and rich fat — the larger portion. The other heap, though wrapped in gleaming fat, concealed nothing but bare bones.
Athena, who carefully observed everything, felt utterly devastated when she saw what he had done.
I just told you not to confront Zeus directly. Even if you wouldn't listen, couldn't you at least be a little more subtle?
And now you turn around and throw yourself into danger anyway.
Our friendship is over — do you hear me? o(￣ヘ￣o)
Chapter 75 End