If you wish to know the history of fire, you will have to go on a long journey back in time. Starting from the caveman up to the modern kitchens, fire continues to burn and light our ways into the future. It has remained to be a source of fear as well as fascination. But humans have been able to tame it to drive the benefits out of this valuable gift of nature. It was fire that led to the idea of heating systems and now we have the geothermal systems with geothermal heat pump attached to it.
It is amazing how fire provides a sense of security, warmth and comfort when you are enjoying a campfire with the family in your backyard. The flames of the fire licking up to the sky in a perfect motion and those cracking and popping sounds are enough to set your mood. Wild fire is actually quite powerful and destructive but if controlled in a proper way then there is nothing so beautiful.
In prehistoric times, when fire was discovered, the warming light was thought to be something magical. It was believed to be a magical gift as it was so powerful. Fire is an element that has the power to make or break. The spontaneous combustion is what makes fire so mystical so it is no surprise that the account on fire is mentioned in several mythologies.
The Admiralty Islanders of the Pacific Ocean used to narrate a legend about a snake that used to talk. According to the story, the snake used to poke the children and asked them to cook food for him. Unaware of cooking, the children used to sun bake the fish for him. It is believed that the snake provided them fire and also taught them to cook food.
In the Greek mythology, Prometheus, the son of Lapeteus and Themis is believed to have stolen fire from Zeus and brought it to earth for helping mankind. The legend says that Zeus was not pleased by this act and so punished Prometheus for providing the mortals with such a power.
From the perspective of different religions, fire is connected with punishment. For instance, in Christianity, hell is a place of suffering and torment that will result by burning in fire. In some religions, the apocalypse is associated with fire which says that the current world will end as a result of fire and a new world will develop in its place.
Whether it is the Chinese mythology magician Hui Lu or the Hindu god of Agni, fire is associated with both of them. This is not all as fire still continues to be a part of rituals, magicians, earthly balance, destruction, construction as well as enlightenment.
Originally, fire was used for simple activities like cooking, keeping warm, cremation and fending off animals. However, in today’s world it plays a bigger role than that. It has been used to generate steam through incinerators that burns tons of waste and has also been successfully employed for generating power. Diesel engine fire portable fighting pump