Percy Jackson's Greek Gods by Rick Riordan, John Rocco

Hestia was kindhearted that way. I think she either helped Prometheus or at least turned a blind eye and let him steal the hot coals.
    Whatever the case, Prometheus sneaked out of Olympus with his secret burning licorice stick and gave it to the humans. It took a while for them to learn how to use the hot flaming stuff without killing themselves; but finally they managed, and the idea spread like…well, wildfire.
    Usually Zeus didn’t pay much attention to what was happening down on the earth. After all, the sky was his domain. But one clear night he stood at the balcony on Mount Olympus and noticed that the world was freckled with lights—in houses, towns, even a few cities. The humans had come out of their caves.
    “That little punk,” Zeus grumbled. “Prometheus armed the cockroaches.”
    Next to him, the goddess Hera said, “Uh, what?”
    “Nothing,” Zeus muttered. He yelled to his guards: “Find Prometheus and get him in here. NOW ! ”
    Zeus was not pleased. He didn’t like it when someone disobeyed his orders, especially when that someone was a Titan whom Zeus had generously spared after the war. Zeus was so displeased, he decided to punish Prometheus in a way no one would ever forget. He chained the Titan to a rock on Mount Caucasus at the eastern edge of the world, then summoned a huge eagle, which was Zeus’s sacred animal, to peck open Prometheus’s belly and feed on his liver.
    Oh, sorry. That was a little gross. I hope you weren’t on your way to lunch.
    Every day, the eagle would rip Prometheus open and chow down. And every night, Prometheus would heal up and grow a new liver, just in time for the eagle to show up the next morning.
    The other gods and Titans got the message: Don’t disobey Zeus, or bad things will happen to you, most likely involving chains, livers, and hungry eagles.
    As for Hestia, no one accused her of anything; but she must have felt bad for Prometheus, because she made sure his sacrifice wasn’t in vain. She became the goddess of all hearths, across the world. In every mortal home, the central fireplace was sacred to her. If you needed protection, like if someone was chasing you or beating you up, you ran to the nearest hearth and no one could touch you there. Whoever lived in that house was obligated to help if you asked for sanctuary. Families would take their important oaths on the hearth, and whenever they burned a portion of their meal as a sacrifice to the gods, part of that sacrifice went to Hestia.
    As towns and cities grew, they operated just like individual homes. Each town had a central hearth that was under Hestia’s protection. If you were an ambassador from another city, you always visited the hearth first to proclaim that you had come in peace. If you got in trouble and you made it to the town hearth, no one in that city could harm you. In fact, the citizens were honor-bound to protect you.
    It turned out Prometheus was right. Humans did start acting like the gods, for better or worse. Eventually, the gods got used to this and even accepted it. The humans built temples for them, burned sweet-smelling sacrifices, and chanted about how awesome the Olympians were. That certainly helped.
    Still, Zeus didn’t forgive Prometheus for disobeying his orders. Eventually Prometheus got freed, but that’s another story.
    As for Hestia, she was able to maintain peace on Olympus most of the time—but not always.
    For instance, one time her sister Demeter got so mad at her brothers, she almost caused World War Zero….

DEMETER TURNS INTO GRAINZILLA

    O H, YEAH . D EMETER !
    Try not to get too excited, because this chapter is all about the goddess of wheat, bread, and cereal. Demeter just flat-out rocks when it comes to carbohydrates.
    I’m not being fair to her, though.
    Sure, she was the goddess of agriculture, but she had other things going for her. Among the three eldest goddesses, she was the middle sister, so she combined Hestia’s sweet personality with her