Theft of fire

Prometheus Brings Fire to Mankind (1817) by Heinrich Füger

The theft of fire for the benefit of humanity is a theme that recurs in many world mythologies. Examples include:

America

Among various Native American tribes of the Pacific Northwest and First Nations, fire was stolen and given to humans by Coyote, Beaver or Dog.^[1]
In Algonquin myth, Rabbit stole fire from an old man and his two daughters.^[2]
In Cherokee myth, after Possum and Buzzard had failed to steal fire, Grandmother Spider used her web to sneak into the land of light. She stole fire, hiding it in a clay pot.^[3]
According to a Mazatec legend, the opossum spread fire to humanity. Fire fell from a star and an old woman kept if for herself. The opossum took fire from the old woman and carried the flame on its tail, resulting in its hairlessness.^[4]
According to the Muscogees/Creeks, Rabbit stole fire from the Weasels.^[5]
In Ojibwa myth, Nanabozho the hare stole fire and gave it to humans.
According to some Yukon First Nations people, Crow stole fire from a volcano in the middle of the water.^[6]

Eurasia

According to the Rigveda (3:9.5), the hero Mātariśvan recovered fire, which had been hidden from humanity.
In Greek mythology, according to Hesiod (Theogony, 565-566 and Works & Days, 50) and Pseudo-Apollodorus (Bibliotheca, 1.7.1), Titan Prometheus steals the heavenly fire for humanity, enabling the progress of civilization.
In the Book of Enoch, the fallen angels and Azazel teach early humanity to use tools and fire.
In one of the versions of Georgian myth, Amirani stole fire from metalsmiths, who refused to share it – and knowledge of creating it – with other humans.
The Vainakh hero Pkharmat brought fire to mankind and was chained to Mount Kazbek as punishment.
In Norse mythology, Loki gains the secret of fire from an eagle in exchange for the hams and shoulders of sacrificed oxen.^[7]

Oceania

In Polynesian myth, Māui stole fire from the Mudhens.^[8]
In the mythology of the Wurundjeri people of Australia, it was the Crow who stole the secret of fire from the Karatgurk women.^[9]

References[edit]

^ Judson, Katharine B. Myths and Legends of the Pacific Northwest. Chicago, 1912.
^ Alexander, Hartley Burr. The Mythology of All Races. Vol 10: North American. Boston, 1916.
^ Erdoes, Richard and Alfonso Ortiz, eds. American Indian Myths and Legends. New York, 1984.
^ "La leyenda del tlacuache que trajo el fuego a la humanidad". México Desconocido (in Spanish). 14 December 2018. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
^ Swanton, John. "Myths and Tales of the Southeastern Indians." Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin 88: 1929.
^ Janke, Daniel (2008). "How People Got Fire (animated short)" (DVD). National Film Board of Canada. Retrieved 2010-02-10.
^ Stephany, Timothy (2010). "The Theft of Fire: Prometheus and Loki" (PDF).
^ Westervelt, W.D. Legends of Maui – a Demigod of Polynesia, and of His Mother Hina. Honolulu, 1910. Ch. 5.
^ Mudrooroo (1994). Aboriginal mythology: An A-Z spanning the history of the Australian Aboriginal people from the earliest legends to the present day. London: Thorsons. pp. 35–36. ISBN 978-1-85538-306-7.

Reclus, Élisée (1911). "Fire" . In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. 10 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 399–401.
O fogo e as chamas dos mitos (in Portuguese) by Betty Mindlin Essay about the origin of fire, stealing of fire, keeping of fire in different South-American indigenous cultures

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