Caucasian Eagle
The eagle — offspring of Typhon and Echidna in some traditions — tasked by Zeus with devouring the liver of Prometheus each day upon his rocky prison.
The Myth of Caucasian Eagle
Each morning the eagle descended on iron wings to the peak where Prometheus lay chained and consumed his liver. By nightfall the liver had regrown completely, and the cycle resumed at dawn. This daily torment continued for an age — sources vary on whether it lasted thirty or thousands of years. The eagle was the instrument of Zeus' will, a divine executioner rather than a beast acting on instinct. Its size was prodigious: Hyginus records it had a wingspan of enormous span. The hero Heracles ended the torment: travelling through the Caucasus on his quest for the Apples of the Hesperides, he shot the eagle with a poisoned arrow — arrows dipped in the Hydra's blood — and freed Prometheus. Zeus allowed the rescue, having decided the punishment had served its purpose.
Parents
Typhon,Echidna
Symbols
Fun Fact
Heracles used arrows poisoned with the Hydra's blood to kill the eagle — meaning one of his Twelve Labours directly enabled him to resolve another ancient divine punishment.
Explore Further
Ethon
🐉 creaturePunishment, endurance
Giant eagle sent by Zeus to devour the liver of Prometheus daily as punishment for stealing fire
Aethon
🐉 creaturesky,punishment
A divine eagle, whose name means "blazing" or "burning", sent by Zeus to torment Prometheus by devouring his liver each day.
Prometheus Bound
💭 conceptpunishment, defiance
The punishment of Prometheus, chained to a rock in the Caucasus where an eagle devoured his regenerating liver daily for giving fire to humanity.
Prometheus
🏔 titanpunishment
Titan who stole fire from the gods for humanity and was chained to a mountain where an eagle ate his liver daily.
Caucasus Mountains
🏛 placegeography
The mountain range at the edge of the known world where Prometheus was chained as punishment for stealing fire.
Tityos
🗡 heropunishment
Giant who attempted to rape Leto and was condemned to have two vultures eat his regenerating liver in Tartarus forever.
Tityos
🗡 heroGiant punished for assaulting Leto
Tityos was a giant whose attempt to assault Leto earned him one of the underworld's most graphic eternal punishments — two vultures feeding on his liver.
Phineus
🗡 heroprophecy, punishment
A blind Thracian king and prophet punished by Zeus for revealing divine secrets, tormented by Harpies until rescued by the Argonauts.
Calydonian Boar
🐉 creatureMonstrous boar sent by Artemis
The Calydonian Boar was a massive, destructive beast sent by Artemis to ravage Calydon after King Oeneus forgot to honour her in sacrifice.
Pegasus
🐉 creatureWinged divine horse
The immortal winged horse that sprang from the blood of Medusa when Perseus beheaded her. Pegasus was tamed by Bellerophon and later became a constellation.
Pegasus
🐉 creatureFlight, heroism
Winged divine horse born from the blood of Medusa who carried Bellerophon against the Chimaera
Ophiotaurus
🐉 creaturehybrid creatures
A creature half bull and half serpent whose entrails, if burned, could grant power to overthrow the gods