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Epimetheus
Sign in to saveIn Greek mythology, Epimetheus (; ) is the brother of Prometheus, with the complementary pair serving as archetypal representations of mankind. Both are sons of the Titan Iapetus; while Prometheus ("forethought, or foresight") is portrayed as ingeniously clever, Epimetheus ("afterthought, or hindsight") is considered inept and foolish. In some accounts of the myth, Epimetheus unleashes the unforeseen troubles in Pandora's box.
Epimetheus is a figure from Greek mythology who represents the opposite of his more famous brother Prometheus—while Prometheus embodies foresight and wisdom, Epimetheus embodies hindsight and foolishness. He matters as part of an archetypal pair that ancient Greeks used to illustrate contrasting human qualities, and in some versions of the myths he is responsible for releasing the world's troubles by opening Pandora's box.
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Key facts
- Deity.type
- Greek
- Deity.name
- Epimetheus
- Deity.image
- Pandora's gift to Epimetheus.jpg
- Deity.caption
- Pandora offers the jar to Epimetheus.
- Deity.god_of
- Titan who embodies afterthought
- Deity.consort
- Pandora
- Deity.parents
- Iapetus and Clymene
- Deity.siblings
- Prometheus, Menoetius, Atlas
- Deity.children
- Prophasis, Pyrrha
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Image
- Pandora's gift to Epimetheus.jpg
Show 3 more facts
- Commons category
- Epimetheus
- name in native language
- Ἐπιμηθεύς
via Wikidata · CC0
~4 min read
Article
6 sectionsContents
- Mythology
- In modern culture
- Genealogy
- Notes
- References
- External links
In Greek mythology, Epimetheus (; ) is the brother of Prometheus, with the complementary pair serving as archetypal representations of mankind. Both are sons of the Titan Iapetus; while Prometheus ("forethought, or foresight") is portrayed as ingeniously clever, Epimetheus ("afterthought, or hindsight") is considered inept and foolish. In some accounts of the myth, Epimetheus unleashes the unforeseen troubles in Pandora's box.
==Mythology== According to Plato's use of the old myth in his Protagoras (320d–322a), the two Titan brothers were entrusted with distributing the traits among the newly created animals. Epimetheus was responsible for giving a positive trait to every animal, but when it was time to give man a positive trait, lacking foresight he found that there was nothing left. Prometheus decided that humankind's attributes would be the civilising arts and fire, which he stole from Athena and Hephaestus. Prometheus later stood trial for his crime. In the context of Plato's dialogue, "Epimetheus, the being in whom thought follows production, represents nature in the sense of materialism, according to which thought comes later than thoughtless bodies and their thoughtless motions."