In Greek mythology, Prometheus stole fire from the gods for humanity.
Prometheus is a Titan known for assisting humans and challenging Zeus. In the myth, he took fire and gave it to people, enabling technology, cooking, crafts, and civilization in later interpretations. Zeus regarded the act as a serious offense and punished Prometheus severely.
The theft of fire is the event that leads into the Pandora story in Hesiod’s account. Zeus’s response includes creating Pandora and sending her to Epimetheus with the jar. The two episodes are therefore often retold together: Prometheus brings a powerful benefit to humans, and Pandora’s arrival introduces suffering.
Fire has symbolic as well as practical meaning in the tradition. It represents knowledge, creative power, and the boundary between divine and human capabilities. Later Greek and Roman authors developed Prometheus’s character in different ways, but the theft of fire remained his defining mythic act.