Editing Epimetheus

{{Short description|Brother of Atlas, Menoetius and Prometheus}}
{{other uses}}
{{Infobox deity
| type             = Greek
| name             = Epimetheus
| image            = Pandora's gift to Epimetheus.jpg
| caption          = [[Pandora]] offers the jar to Epimetheus.
| god_of           = God of afterthought
| abode            = 
| consort          = [[Pandora]]
| parents          = [[Iapetus]] and [[Clymene (wife of Iapetus)|Clymene]]
| siblings         = [[Prometheus]], [[Menoetius]], [[Atlas (mythology)|Atlas]]
| children         = [[Prophasis]], [[Pyrrha]]
}}
{{Greek deities (Titans)}}

In [[Greek mythology]], '''Epimetheus''' ({{IPAc-en|ɛ|p|ɪ|ˈ|m|iː|θ|i|ə|s|audio=LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-Epimetheus.wav}}; {{langx|grc|Ἐπιμηθεύς||afterthought}})<ref>Yasumura, [https://books.google.com/books?id=mVoDAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA110 p. 110]</ref> is the brother of [[Prometheus]], the pair serving "as representatives of mankind".<ref>Kerényi, [https://archive.org/details/godsofgreeks00kerrich/page/206/mode/2up?view=theater p. 207].</ref> Both sons of the [[Titans|Titan]] [[Iapetus]],<ref>[[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0020.tlg001.perseus-eng1:507-544 507&ndash;12]; Hard, [https://books.google.com/books?id=r1Y3xZWVlnIC&pg=PA49 p. 49]</ref> while Prometheus ("foresight") is ingeniously clever, Epimetheus ("hindsight") is 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 (dialogue)|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.<ref>[[Leo Strauss]], ''Natural Right and History'', p. 117.</ref> [[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."<ref>Leo Strauss, ''Natural Right and History'', p. 117.</ref>

According to [[Hesiod]], who related the tale twice (''Theogony'', 527ff; ''Works and Days'' 57ff), Epimetheus was the one who accepted the gift of [[Pandora]] from the gods. Their marriage may be inferred (and was by later authors), but it is not made explicit in either text. In later myths, the daughter of Epimetheus and Pandora was [[Pyrrha]], who married [[Deucalion]], a descendant of Prometheus. Together they are the only two humans who survived the [[Deluge (mythology)|deluge]].<ref>[[Ovid]], ''[[Metamorphoses]]'', Book I, line 390.</ref> In some accounts, Epimetheus had another daughter, Metameleia, whose name means "regret of what has occurred" for those that do not plan ahead will only feel sorrow when calamity strikes.<ref>[[John Tzetzes]]. ''[http://www.theoi.com/Text/TzetzesChiliades6.html#50 Chiliades, 6.50 lines 913-916]''.</ref> According to a [[Scholia|scholion]] (marginal comment) on [[Apollonius of Rhodes]]' ''[[Argonautica]]'', [[Eumelos]] states that Epimetheus' wife was called [[Ephyra (mythology)|Ephyra]], daughter of [[Oceanus]] and [[Tethys (mythology)|Tethys]].<ref>Gantz, p. 157; [[Eumelus of Corinth|Eumelus]] [https://books.google.com/books?id=j0nRE4C2WBgC&pg=PA105 fr. 1b Fowler, p. 106] [= ''[[FGrHist]]'' [https://scholarlyeditions.brill.com/reader/urn:cts:greekLit:fgrh.0451.bnjo-1-ed-grc:f1b 451 F1b] = Scholia on [[Apollonius of Rhodes]], [https://books.google.com/books?id=0lkhbarJcukC&pg=PA310 4.1212/14b (Wendel, p. 310)].</ref> In the fifth of [[Pindar]]'s ''Pythian Odes'', he is called the father of [[Prophasis]].<ref>[[Pindar]], ''Pythian'' [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/pindar-pythian_odes/1997/pb_LCL056.311.xml 5.28&ndash;9 (pp. 310, 311)].</ref>

==In modern culture==
In his seminal book ''[[Psychological Types]]'', in Chapter X, "General description of the types", [[Carl Jung]] uses the image of Epimetheus (with direct reference to [[Carl Spitteler]]'s Epimetheus) to refer to the false application of a mental function, as opposed to its whole, healthy, and creative use.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Jung|first1=Carl|title=Psychological Types|date=1921|url=http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/Jung/types.htm|access-date=9 June 2017|chapter=X. General description of the types}}</ref>

== Genealogy ==

{{chart top|Epimetheus's family tree<ref>[[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hes.+Th.+132 132&ndash;138], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hes.+Th.+337 337&ndash;411], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hes.+Th.+453 453&ndash;520], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hes.+Th.+901 901&ndash;906, 915&ndash;920]; Caldwell, pp. 8&ndash;11, tables 11&ndash;14.</ref>|collapsed=no}}
{{chart/start}}
{{chart|}}
{{chart| | | | | | | | | | | |URA |y|GAI |~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|y|PON|URA=[[Uranus (mythology)|Uranus]]|GAI=[[Gaia]]|PON=[[Pontus (mythology)|Pontus]]}}
{{chart|,|-|v|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|-|-|v|-|^|-|v|-|-|-|-|-|-|.| | | |!}}
{{chart|!|OCE |y|TET | | | |HYP |y|THE | | | | |CRI |y|EUR|OCE=[[Oceanus]]|TET=[[Tethys (mythology)|Tethys]]|HYP=[[Hyperion (Titan)|Hyperion]]|THE=[[Theia]]|CRI=[[Crius]]|EUR=[[Eurybia (mythology)|Eurybia]]}}
{{chart|!| |,|-|^|-|.| | | |,|-|-|-|+|-|-|-|.| | | |,|-|-|^|v|-|-|-|.}}
{{chart|!|RIV | |OCE | |HEL | |SEL | |EOS | |AST | |PAL | |PER |RIV=<small>The&nbsp;[[River gods (Greek mythology)|Rivers]]</small>|OCE=<small>The&nbsp;[[Oceanids]]</small>|HEL=[[Helios]]|SEL=[[Selene]]<ref>Although usually the daughter of Hyperion and Theia, as in [[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hes.+Th.+371 371&ndash;374], in the ''[[Homeric Hymns|Homeric Hymn]] to Hermes'' (4), [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=HH+4+99&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0138 99&ndash;100], Selene is instead made the daughter of Pallas the son of Megamedes.</ref>|EOS=[[Eos]]|AST=[[Astraeus]]|PAL=[[Pallas (Titan)|Pallas]]|PER=[[Perses (Titan)|Perses]]}}
{{chart|!| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |}}
{{chart|)|-|-|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|.| | | |}}
{{chart|!| | | | |CRO |y|RHE | | | | | | | |COE |y|PHO | | |COE=[[Coeus]]|PHO=[[Phoebe (Titaness)|Phoebe]]|CRO=[[Cronus]]|RHE=[[Rhea (mythology)|Rhea]]}}
{{chart|!| |,|-|v|-|v|-|^|-|v|-|v|-|.| | | | | |,|-|^|-|.| | | }}
{{chart|!|HES |!|HER | |HAD |!|ZEU | | | |LET | |AST | |HES=[[Hestia]]|HER=[[Hera]]|HAD=[[Hades]]|ZEU=[[Zeus]]|LET=[[Leto]]|AST=[[Asteria]]}}
{{chart|!| | | |!| | | | | | | |!| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |}}
{{chart|!| | |DEM | | | | | |POS | | | | | | | | | | | | | |DEM=[[Demeter]]|POS=[[Poseidon]]}}
{{chart|!| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |}}
{{chart|`|-|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|.}}
{{chart| | | | |IAP |y|CLY | | | | | |MNE |~|y|~|ZEU |~|y|~|THE |IAP=[[Iapetus]]|CLY=[[Clymene (wife of Iapetus)|Clymene]]&nbsp;(or&nbsp;[[Asia (Oceanid)|Asia]])<ref>According to [[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hes.+Th.+507 507&ndash;511], Clymene, one of the [[Oceanids]], the daughters of [[Oceanus]] and [[Tethys (mythology)|Tethys]], at [[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hes.+Th.+351 351], was the mother by Iapetus of Atlas, Menoetius, Prometheus, and Epimetheus, while according to [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022%3Atext%3DLibrary%3Abook%3D1%3Achapter%3D2%3Asection%3D3 1.2.3], another Oceanid, Asia was their mother by Iapetus.</ref>|MNE=[[Mnemosyne]]|ZEU=(Zeus)|THE=[[Themis]]}}
{{chart| |,|-|-|-|v|-|^|-|v|-|-|-|.| | | | | | |!| | | | | |!}}
{{chart|ATL | |MEN | |PRO | |EPI | | | | |MUS | | | |HOR |ATL=[[Atlas (mythology)|Atlas]]<ref>According to [[Plato]], ''[[Critias (dialogue)|Critias]]'', [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0059.tlg032.perseus-eng1:113d 113d&ndash;114a], Atlas was the son of [[Poseidon]] and the mortal [[Cleito]].</ref>|MEN=[[Menoetius]]|PRO=[[Prometheus]]<ref>In [[Aeschylus]], ''[[Prometheus Bound]]'' 18, 211, 873 (Sommerstein, pp. [http://www.loebclassics.com/view/aeschylus-prometheus_bound/2009/pb_LCL145.445.xml 444&ndash;445 n. 2], [http://www.loebclassics.com/view/aeschylus-prometheus_bound/2009/pb_LCL145.467.xml 446&ndash;447 n. 24], [http://www.loebclassics.com/view/aeschylus-prometheus_bound/2009/pb_LCL145.539.xml 538&ndash;539 n. 113]) Prometheus was born the son of Themis.</ref>|EPI='''EPIMETHEUS'''|MUS=<small>The&nbsp;[[Muses]]</small>|HOR=<small>The&nbsp;[[Horae]]</small>}}
{{chart/end}}
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==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
* [[Robert Fowler (academic)|Fowler, R. L.]], ''Early Greek Mythography: Volume 1: Text and Introduction'', Oxford University Press, 2000. {{ISBN|978-0198147404}}. [https://books.google.com/books?id=j0nRE4C2WBgC Google Books].
* [[Timothy Gantz|Gantz, Timothy]], ''Early Greek Myth: A Guide to Literary and Artistic Sources'', Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996, Two volumes: {{ISBN|978-0-8018-5360-9}} (Vol. 1), {{ISBN|978-0-8018-5362-3}} (Vol. 2).
* Hard, Robin, ''The Routledge Handbook of Greek Mythology: Based on H.J. Rose's "Handbook of Greek Mythology"'', Psychology Press, 2004. {{ISBN|978-0-415-18636-0}}. [https://books.google.com/books?id=r1Y3xZWVlnIC Google Books].
* [[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'', in ''The Homeric Hymns and Homerica with an English Translation by Hugh G. Evelyn-White'', Cambridge, Massachusetts, [[Harvard University Press]]; London, William Heinemann Ltd., 1914. [http://data.perseus.org/texts/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0020.tlg001.perseus-eng1 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library]. [https://archive.org/details/hesiodhomerichym00hesiuoft/page/78/mode/2up?view=theater Internet Archive].
* [[Károly Kerényi|Kerényi, Karl]], ''The Gods of the Greeks'', Thames and Hudson, London, 1951. [https://archive.org/details/godsofgreeks00kerrich/page/n3/mode/2up?view=theater Internet Archive].
* [[Pindar]], ''Olympian Odes. Pythian Odes'', edited and translated by William H. Race, [[Loeb Classical Library]] No. 56, Cambridge, Massachusetts, [[Harvard University Press]], 1997. {{ISBN|978-0-674-99564-2}}. [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/LCL056/1997/volume.xml Online version at Harvard University Press].
* Wendel, Carl, ''Scholia in Apollonium Rhodium vetera'', Hildesheim, Weidmann, 1999. {{ISBN|978-3-615-15400-9}}. [https://books.google.com/books?id=0lkhbarJcukC Google Books].
* Yasumura, Noriko, ''Challenges to the Power of Zeus in Early Greek Poetry'', Bloomsbury Academic, London, 2011. {{ISBN|978-1-472-51968-9}}. [https://books.google.com/books?id=mVoDAAAAQBAJ Google Books].

==External links==
* {{Commons category-inline|Epimetheus}}

{{Greek mythology (deities)| state=collapsed}}

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[[Category:Greek gods]]
[[Category:Deeds of Zeus]]
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