Prometheus did not just give humanity the light of reason, progress, technology, and the power to rival God when he handed us fire, but the means to dispatch just about any monster imaginable. Considering how Greek Mythology is a Fantasy Kitchen Sink, that was a good thing. The symbolism behind this has to do with fire's associations with purification and Light Is Good, and partly because it represents humanity's dominion over the natural world. More literally a burning stick was humankind's first effective defense against nocturnal predators. Examples of Kill It with Fire include: