to reward Prometheus ( whose name means "forethought") and his brother Epimetheus ("afterthought") for helping him defeat the Titans , Zeus , the great ruler of Olympian gods , gave the brothers the task of creating mortals to populate the land around Mount Olmpus. Prometheus asked Epimetheus to give the creatures their varuous characteristics, such as cunning , swiftness,and flight. By the time he got to man, however, there was nothing left to give. So Prometheus decided to make man in his image : he stood man upright like the gods and became the benefactor and protector of mankind