正文
The creation of man from clay is a miraculous birth theme that recurs（反复） throughout world religions and mythologies.
泥土造人的说法在世界各地的宗教和神话故事中是一个反复出现的主题
Just like Nuwa who molded figures from the yellow earth in Chinese mythology, a similar work was done by Prometheus, a Titan who had stood on the side of the Olympians led by Zeus against his father Cronus, in Greek and Roman mythology.
正如中国神话中的女娲造人，在希腊罗马神话中，类似的工作由普罗米修斯来完成。在宙斯率领奥林匹斯山众神与其父亲克罗诺斯对决的战役中，这位提坦巨人站在了宙斯的一边。
As the name of Prometheus meant “forethought”（先知）, he could see into the future and predicted the final victory of Zeus in the Titanomachy（提坦之战）. However, Prometheus was embittered（愤怒的） by Zeus’ cruel treatment of banishing（驱逐） his Titan-brothers eternally（永远 地） into the chthonic（阴暗的） depth of Tartarus.
因为“普罗米修斯”的意思就是“先知”，他能够看见未来，预见到了宙斯会在这场大战中取得最后的胜利。 然而，宙斯将战败的提坦巨人永久关进地狱深渊塔尔塔罗斯的做法让普罗米修斯心生不满。
To defy（对抗） the supremacy of Zeus, he formed, out of clay, the first man, into whom Athena had breathed a soul. Full of love for the beings he had called into existence, Prometheus determined to elevate（提升） their minds and improve their condition in every way.
为了对抗宙斯的权威，他从黏土中造出了第一个人，雅典娜吹了一口气，赋予了这个人灵魂。普罗米修斯深爱自己所创造的人类，下决心尽一切可能提升他们的能力。
普罗米修斯造人
He therefore shaped men to walk on two legs so that while all the other animals turned their faces downward, humans alone would raise their heads to heaven and gaze（凝视） at the stars. He taught them astronomy, mathematics, the alphabet, medication and so on.
于是，他将人类塑造成两条腿直立行走的物种，当其他动物低头向下的时候，只有人类可以抬头向上、仰望星空，他将天文学、数学、文字、医学等知识传授给了人类。
When Prometheus set about making human beings, his brother Epimetheus, whose name means “afterthought”（后知）, was assigned the task of creating the lower creatures.
就在普罗米修斯着手造人的时候，他的弟弟厄庇墨修斯奉命创造其他的生物。
Due to a lack of wisdom and common sense, Epimetheus gave each species a special gift to survive on the earth, such as strength to the wild beasts, feathers to winged animals, and hard shells to sea creatures, leaving no superior gifts for the human beings to rival other species.
“厄庇墨修斯”的意思是“后知”，由于缺乏智慧和常识，他赋予了自己创造的每个物种一种特殊的能力，例如，他赋予野兽巨大的力量，赋予飞禽羽毛，赋予海洋生物硬壳，结果没有任何一种特殊能力留给人类。
Although endowed with intelligence, Prometheus thought that this gift was not enough, so he contrived（人为的） to steal some sparks from the heaven and gave the torch to his beloved mankind.
尽管普罗米修斯给了人类智慧，但他认为这还不足以保证人类的生存，于是他设法从天宫盗来了火种，将火把传给了他心爱的人类。 283、晨读夜诵，英语小故事（中英对照）盗取天火的普罗米修斯
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