Iapetus

Titan. Iapetus was the son of Uranus and Gaea. He married the daughter of Oceanus and Tethys, either Clymene or Asia. Iapetus was the father of the Titans, Atlas, Menoetius, Prometheus and Epimetheus. Some said that Iapetus married his own sister Themis and became the father of Prometheus.

His son Prometheus tried to persuade him to side with Zeus rather than fight him. Iapetus did not listen to his son's wise counsel. So when Zeus overthrew Cronus and the other Titans, Iapetus was confined with them in Tartarus.

Iapetus's sons didn't escape from Zeus' wrath. Atlas was punished for aiding the Titans in the war against the Olympians. Atlas bore the weight of heaven on his shoulders (see Atlas). Iapetus had another son, Menoetius, who was struck down by Zeus' thunderbolt before the young Titan was sent down to Erebus (Underworld). Hesiod didn't say what the cause was, other than mad presumption and exceeding pride.

Iapetus' other two sons supported Zeus and the Olympians in the war. Epimetheus married Pandora, the first woman who had released all the woes to mankind. Prometheus was chained to a rock where the giant Caucasian Eagle fed on his liver every day. At night, the liver would grow back again, before the eagle would return in the morning to feed upon his liver again. Each new day was a fresh torture. Zeus had punished Prometheus because the Titan had championed the cause of mankind.

See Prometheus or the Creation.