pandora Pandora The First woman on earth Presented by Maqsood Hasni Free abuzar barqi kutab’khana August 2017

PANDORA

The First Woman on Earth

Presented by:
Prof. Dr. Mr. Maqsood Hasni
Free Abuzar Barqi kutab'khana Aguest 2017

The First Woman on Earth

Painting by
John William Waterhouse
"...the woman opened up the cask ,And scattered pains

and evils among men."
Works and Days, Hesiod

QUICK INTRODUCTION

When Zeus, the king of the Olympian gods, was young and
trying to establish his rule, he was challenged by a group
of ferocious Titans, who tried to keep him from gaining
power. A long and terrible war ensued, with all the
Olympian gods joined against the Titans, who were led by
Cronus and Atlas.

After ten years of fighting, and with the help of the
Cyclopes and the Hecatoncheires (The
Hundred-Handed-Ones), Zeus and his fellow Olympians
defeated the Titans. Only a few Titans, including Themis,
Prometheus and his brother Epimetheus, fought on the
side of Zeus - against their fellow Titans - and once Zeus
won, he rewarded them.

But soon Prometheus made Zeus very angry by stealing
fire from Mount Olympus and giving it to the race of
mortal men living on earth, who were cold and hungry.
Zeus had warned Prometheus not to give fire to men, and
was outraged that anyone had the nerve to ignore his
command.

Still, he would seem ungrateful if he appeared to forget

the importantrole that Prometheus and his brother
Epimetheus had played in the war against the Titans, and
he couldn't just kill the brothers, so he cunningly devised
a scheme to get even! PANDORA IS CREATED

In revenge, Zeus ordered Hephaestus, the god of smiths,
to craft a gorgeous woman out of earth and water. The
beautiful goddess of Love, Aphrodite, was asked to pose
as a model, just to make sure the woman was perfect.
Once this was done, the Four Winds (or some say
Hephaestus himself) breathed life into her and there she
lay sleeping, brand spanking new!

The first mortal woman on earth was to be bestowed
with unparalleled charm and beauty, and her unknown
mission would be to bring mischief and misery upon the
human race. Zeus then summoned the other Olympians
and asked them each to give this new creation a gift

Creation of Pandora, interior of Cylix,

470-460 B.C., British Museum,

London, England

Aphrodite adorned her with beauty, grace and desire;
Hermes, the Messenger god, gave her cunning and
boldness; Demeter showed her how to tend a garden;
Athena taught her manual dexterity and to spin; Apollo
taught her to sing sweetly and play the lyre; Poseidon's
gift was a pearl necklace and the god of the sea
promised her that she would never drown.

But Zeus also made her foolish, mischievous and idle.
This was the first woman, divine in appearance but quite
human in reality.

The gods called her Pandora, which means "All-gifted",
or "The gift of all", because each god had given her a
power by which she would work the ruin of man, and
because of the many presents bestowed upon her at
Olympus.

Lovely Pandora was created to become the wife of the
Titan Epimetheus, who was the not-very-bright brother
of Prometheus, the one who had gotten on Zeus' bad side.
Before sending her to earth, the gods held a big banquet
and Hermes, the Messenger god, presented Pandora with
a splendidly crafted jar (some say a box), adorned with
wonderful images. But Hermes warned Pandora that she
must never open the jar (box)!

She must NEVER open the box...And then Zeus' wife, Hera,
gave her the quality of curiosity! Tell me, is that fair?

They also gave her silvery raiment and a broidered veil,
and in her hair they placed bright garlands of fresh
flowers and a wonderful crown of gold. Her gowns were

most sumptuous and she was truly a vision from heaven.

When Pandora was finally brought out and shown to the
gods, resplendent in all the finery she had received,
great amazement and wonder took hold of them, such
was the effect of her beauty...

Desperate, Pandora took the box and locked it inside a
heavy wooden chest. She placed chains around the chest,
dug a hole, and buried it in her garden. With great effort
she rolled a huge boulder on top of the "grave",
determined to forget all about this object of her
obsession.

She couldn't sleep that night. No matter how she tried,

her thoughts kept returning to the buried golden box.
She put on her robe and went out to the garden. As if in a
trance, Pandora found herself drawn to the boulder. She
reached out and touched the stone and like magic it
moved, revealing the hole. This must be a sign from
Hermes!

"You must never open the box!" As she dug the earth to
get to the box, the Messenger god's words rang in her
mind. "Never open the box!"

Pandora wanted to obey the command of the gods, and
she really wasn't wicked, but at last she could no longer
contain her curiosity. Taking the little golden key from
around her neck, she fitted it into the keyhole and gently
opened the box. Just a tiny bit, so that she could have a
little peek, you see, and then she was going to close it up
again. Just a little, tiny peek...It was her wedding gift,
after all...

Painting by John William Waterhouse

Bad move. No sooner had Pandora opened the box, that
she realized her mistake. A foul smell filled the air and
she heard swarming and rustling inside. In horror she
slammed the lid shut, but alas it was too late! The evil had
been unleashed!

You see, the vindictive gods had each put something
harmful inside the box. All the plagues and sorrows
known to humanity were released once Pandora opened
the jar. Old Age, Sickness, Insanity, Pestilence, Vice,

Passion, Greed, Crime, Death, Theft, Lies, Jealousy,
Famine, the list went on and on...every evil, that until then
had been trapped inside the gift from the gods, was now
loosed upon the earth.

Illustration by Padraic Colum (1881–1972) from

The Golden Fleece and the Heroes
Who Lived before Achilles, 1921.

First the scourges stung Pandora and Epimetheus on
every part of their body, then the evils scattered
throughout the world and mixed with the good, so that
they were indistinguishable, and humans had a hard time
telling between the two extremes. Entering a house,

these monster hang from the rafters and bide their time,
waiting for the perfect moment to swoop down and sting
their victim, bringing pain, pestilence, sorrow and death.

Woe was Pandora! The poor girl was terror-stricken at
what she had caused, and at this unexpected eruption of
evil. But just as she thought all was lost, one little Sprite,
a solitary good thing, hidden at the bottom of the jar, flew
out.

It was Hope! Deep down inside the hateful jar was the
only thing that has sustained humanity in times of
sorrow, pain and misery - Hope. The endless Hope that
things will soon get better. And it's this Hope that keeps
us going to this very day, our sole comfort in times of
misfortune.

But before you go blaming all of society's ills on poor
lovely Pandora, the first woman and the ultimate pariah,
first consider the following question: Would you have
been disciplined enough to keep the jar/box shut, or
would you, like Pandora, let your curiosity get the best of
you?

Hey, if it was MY wedding gift, I'd be opening it! Just so I

could send a Thank You note!

EPILOGUE
Here's an interesting aside: At a still later period, rather
than all the ills of the world, the box was said to have
contained all the blessings of the gods. These were
meant to have been preserved for the future benefit of
the human race. Pandora was instructed never to open
the box, but once again her curiosity got the better of
her, and she had a peek.

The winged blessings at once took flight and escaped,
rarely to be seen again. If only Pandora had kept the box
closed! Who knows what our world would be like!

Image from an ancient Greek vase

"And in her breast, the messenger, killer of Argos,
created lies; deceiving words, a deceitful heart, just as
Zeus with his angry mutterings had wished. Then the
herald of the gods gave her the power of speech and the
name of Pandora, because that name represented all the
inhabitants of Olympus who, with this gift, made a
present of misfortune to mankind."

Hessiod, Theogony

Topic:

Examine the sequence of myths concerning Prometheus'
trick of the sacrifice, his theft of fire and the creation of

woman (Hesiod, Theogony 535-616, Works and Days

42-105), considering the following issues:
How are these myths related thematically to each other?
And in particular:
How do they collectively define and justify the
relationships between men and gods, men and animals,
men and women?
Compare and contrast what you consider to be the
purpose of these myths with that of the myth of Eden and

Adam and Eve in Genesis.

The works of Hesiod regarding the trick of the sacrifice,
the theft of fire and the creation of women have long
been regarded by analysts as being thematically linked
through the concept of the deceptive gift, the fall of
mankind from an era of utopia and the establishment of
relationships. In a purposive analysis, it is equally
possible to compare these myths and that of Adam and
Eve in the Eden of Genesis, with a number of striking
parallels and contrasts occurring. This essay will
attempt to account for the above thematic links, and
draw conclusions regarding the state of mankind in
Greek and Hebrew thinking.

Thematically, the myths found in Theogony 535-616 and
Works and Days 42-105 are interwoven, and it is

generally accepted that the differing versions of the
trick of the sacrifice, theft of fire and creation of woman
(and the ensuing results of this line of events) are
complementary, and that each myth elaborates the
barely-mentionedelements of the other. Three major
themes which are found in these myths are those of
deceptive gifts, the gradual fall of mankind, and the

establishment of relationships between gods, men,
women (once created), and animals. Regarding the
theme of deceptive gifts, it is possible to discern a
pattern which runs through the myths in question,
namely that each event is triggered in response to a
trap, trick or deception, finally establishing social norms
and causing humans to suffer more grievances than in
the past.

Although the different versions of the myths (Theogony
and Works and Days) do not agree whether men and

gods begin in a state of harmony or opposition1, both
versions agree that a state of tension between
Prometheus and Zeus occurs when the Titan attempts to
publicly deceive Zeus2 during the sharing of ox portions.
It is the deceptive gift offered by Prometheus to the
father of the gods - bones, not meat, concealed under fat
- that sets in motion a series of events that will have
serious ramifications for social hierarchies and ritual
practices; additionally, in allotting the various shares of
ox for both gods and men, men and gods are finally split
from an age where they dined together in harmony.
The theme of the deceptive gift is developed further in

the myths, with Zeus no longer giving (I.e., hiding3) fire
from the mortal men on earth, who have benefited
thanks to their protector's "tricking" of Zeus. It is
through this action that men are reduced to a state of
primitive bestiality, in that they are no longer able to
cook meat (thus eating raw meat, the practice of

omophagia, just like animals) and can no longer

communicate to the gods through sacrifice. Not on par
with gods in that they cannot breach the gap between
mortality and immortality, men are no longer stationed
above wild beasts, but are their equal. This lowering of
status is reversed by Prometheus, who steals fire and
carries it to give to men by hiding it in a fennel stalk4,
infuriating Zeus. In a way, however, the gods also benefit
from this theft, as they may now receive once more the
smoke of the burnt sacrifices.
The final deceptive gift is the woman created by various
gods on the command of Zeus - Pandora, "all-gifted"5, as

she is named in Works and Days. Created from the earth

by Hephaestos and animated by the power of the gods,
Pandora is not just given the face of a goddess and the
body of a beautiful virgin girl, but she is also given the

talents of deception, of lying, of consuming both food and
sex6, yet contributes nothing to the household. Pandora

is the ultimate dolos (trap), as she is irresistible, quite

literally: not only is she physically attractive to men, they
must marry for if they do not, then they are doomed to a
miserable aged existence. With the face of a goddess,
Pandora is linked to the immortals; with the "morals of a

bitch" (Hesiod, Works and Days), she is linked to animals.

Thus, as with man, woman is given a social status
halfway between the gods and the beasts that walk the
earth - not quite either, but a complex mixture of both. It
is the human condition, then, to be apart and ambiguous.
Marriage, sacrifice and ills that plague mankind are the
by-products of the standoff between Prometheus and
Zeus. Marriage, a crucial institution, governs the
relationship between men and women7, and is the second
evil that Zeus sends to men as a punishment,
simultaneously to the giving of Pandora – in the very
best scenario, marriage is described by Hesiod as being
a mixture of good and evil. When Prometheus' foolish
brother Epimetheus (ignoring his older brother's
warning to accept nothing from Zeus) accepts Pandora,

he sets the precedent for marriage, which is considered
to be unprofitable - indeed, it is a liability. Pandora is

portrayed as a gaster8, a stomach which is never

satisfied. She has a relentless appetite for food (and
implicitly, sex), yet contributes nothing to the
household9. Even the children which she may bear are
ambiguous in nature: on the one hand, they will care for
their parents during their old age; on the other, the
division of the estate may occur if there is more than
one heir (it could also be insensitively argued that if a
child dies, then they may be considered to be an
economic loss to the household). Beautiful on the
outside, internally Pandora is worth no more than the
dirt from which she was formed, and exists solely to
make the lot of men harder in life. It is thus that she is a
deceptive gift, and that the relationship between men and
women are defined - this relationship is one of hardship.
The communications between gods and men through the
newly established ritual of sacrifice (the product of
Prometheus' trick at Mecone, and final splitting of men
from the gods) is another relationship set up due to the
sequence of events told by Hesiod in these myths. In

apportioning the shares of ox, men and gods are

irrevocably split. Yet more curiously, however, is the fall

of mankind, a theme which finds parallels in the myth told

in Genesis. Pandora carries with her, or within her, a

pithos (jar10) which contains all the evils of the world in
addition to the enigmatic elpis (hope). It is these evils,

when released by Pandora, which further contribute to

the degeneration of the state of man (as well as a

women, now that they exist), and this theme is analogous

to that of Adam and Eve. Moreover, hope is now the

perpetual state of human existence, and also defines man

as being halfway between gods and animals: "Whoever is

immortal, as the gods are, has no need of Elpis. Nor is

there any [... for beasts who are] ignorant of their
mortality."11

Genesis begins, as Hesiod, with a utopian setting, the

Garden of Eden, where man rules over animals, yet is
lesser than God. Woman, Eve12, is created not as a

deceptive gift to punish man, but as a companion for
Adam13 - unlike Pandora who is "unquestionably
inferior"14 to men. Despite this contrast between the

myths, a parallel lies in the fact that in both cases, it is

woman who directly causes the fall of mankind, ignoring
the progression of preceding events. Pandora wilfully
opens the mysterious jar (any admonition that she
should not do so has either never existed, or has been
left out by Hesiod on the assumption that the audience
would know of the jar and its significance), causing evils
to roam the earth by night and day, harming humans
forevermore - no longer do men die peacefully as they
once did before the advent of woman. This releasing of
evil is comparable to Eve partaking of the fruit15 on the
tree of knowledge of good and evil. Although forbidden to
eat this fruit, Eve does so, and additionally encourages
Adam to follow suit. Upon eating the fruit, Adam and Eve
lose their state of child-like innocence, and become
aware of their nakedness - this fall from innocence
compounds to be a fall from a blissful existence, when
the couple are banned from the Garden of Eden and
punished further by God's decree.
The punishments of Adam and Eve - to have to work hard
to gain sustenance (Adam), and to bear children with
hard labour (Eve) - correspond to the punishments on
humans which resulted from the original Promethean

trick of the sacrifice. Henceforth, men must work hard
to obtain food from the ground which had once simply
given grains without any difficulty16. Agriculture has been
established, another point of differentiation between man
and beast, who does not cultivate, but kills at random.
Not only must the ground be ploughed in order to gain
anything worthwhile, but the fertile ground of Pandora
must also be seeded in order for children to eventuate, a
necessity ordained by Zeus - if man has no children, then
his estate will be in jeopardy in the future, and he will
have nobody to look after him in his old age. Like with
Pandora, Adam and Eve are forced to have children by
God's decree "...in labour you shall bear children."
(Genesis 3:16)
The concept of the deceptive gift may also reside in
Genesis - why is the tree of knowledge of good and evil
placed in the Garden of Eden in the first place? Yet the
more prominent parallel theme to that of the Hesiodic
myths, aside from the fall of mankind, is the
establishment of relationships. Adam, like Pandora, is a
creation of earth - God forms him, animates him, and
places him in charge of the animals in Eden, as shown by

the fact that Adam is able to name them (and thus hold
mastery over them). Adam is thus subordinate to God,
yet above animals. The situation with Eve is more
ambiguous: it is interesting to note that after their fall
from grace, Adam names Eve, perhaps implying mastery.
This viewpoint has been questioned, as discussed earlier
in the essay.
The sequence of myths in Hesiod regarding the trick of
the sacrifice, the theft of fire and the creation of woman
are thematically linked through relationships, deceptive
gifts and the fall of man from a state of near-perfect
existence. A parallel to this set of myths may be found in
Genesis, in the myth of Adam, Eve, and the Garden of
Eden. In both, man originally exists in a world without
trouble; after the creation of woman, humans begin to
suffer as the woman in question (either Pandora or Eve)
sets in motion events which lead to a worsened situation
and future. Additionally, these myths show that man
holds a tenuous and ambiguous position between the
gods and beasts, and lives in a possibly unequal
partnership with his wife. The establishment of important
social customs such as marriage, agriculture and

sacrifice are the direct result of the original deception

of Prometheus. In sum, the myths contained in Theogony,
Works and Days, and Genesis are thematically

intertwined, all explaining why humans stand alone
between immortality and bestiality, why they must
suffer, and what roles both sexes must play. This is
perhaps best summarised by Jean-Pierre Vernant, who
said
Henceforward, there is a reverse aspect to everything:
contact can only be made with the gods through sacrifice
which at the same time consecrates the impassable
barrier between mortals and immortals; there can be no
happiness without unhappiness, no birth without death,
no abundance without toil, no Prometheus without
Epimetheus—in a word, no Man without Pandora.17
Endnotes:

1. In Theogony, men and gods are still united when they
meet to share the ox, whereas in Hesiod's Works
and Days, the scene is different, apparently a
confrontation in metis (wisdom) between the Titan

Prometheus (representing men) and the Olympian
Zeus (representing the gods).

2. It has long been a point of scholarly contention as to
whether or not Zeus was fooled by Prometheus at
this point. Zeus, embodying wisdom, technically
cannot be tricked according to Hesiod, who says that
"...there is no way to flee the mind of Zeus..."

(Hesiod, Works and Days). Others argue that this is

simply a glossing-over, and that Zeus has been
fooled, exactly like his father and grandfather before
him.
3. That the text uses the word "giving" is significant, as
it links in with the theme of gifts: "He bore the trick
in mind, and would not give, / To wretched men who
live on earth, the power / of fire, which never

wearies." (Hesiod, Theogony)

4. It has been argued that gift giving is a cultural
refinement of the act of taking, and that in giving a
gift, social obligations are imposed (refer to Nagy, p.
191 for further discussion). Here, Prometheus takes
what is not given, then gives it through deception
(hiding it in the fennel stalk).

5. Hermes names Pandora this as she receives a skill,
item or element from many different gods. It is

interesting to note that "Pandora" was also a title
connected with the concept of the earth mother, in
that the earth gave life to all. Hesiod does not
recognise this connection, nor does he recognise
that men henceforth are from women born -
Pandora is said to be the progenitor of the female
"race" – "From her comes all the race of

womankind..." (Hesiod, Theogony).

6. For further discussion of the concept of Pandora as
an economic liability to men, refer to Zeitlin, pp.
49-55

7. It is additionally a point of separation between men
and beasts, who often mate somewhat at random.
For the purposes of this essay, I defined 'marriage'
in a traditional way.

8.This word corresponds to the gaster in which the ox

meat is hidden during the trick of the sacrifice.
9. Hesiod choses to ignore the fact that Athena is said

to have taught Pandora how to weave.
10. The jar has long been under academic scrutiny.

Many analysts believe it to represent female
sexuality, and yet others connect it to the general

concept of fertility. For further discussion of these
matters see Reeder, pp. 195-99 and Powell, pp.
121-23.
11.Vernant, p. 184
12. Eve means "mother of all", a link to the earth
goddess connections regarding the name Pandora.
13. It has long been a matter of debate as to
whether Eve, created from the rib of Adam, is
subordinate to him or not. Although traditionally
regarded as such, it has been argued that "...the
woman is created as the man's full, equal partner..."
O'Brien and Major, p. 92
14. Reeder, p. 278
15. Long regarded as being an apple, the more
general word 'fruit' has been used to acknowledge
the belief of several academics that this naming is
formed merely from the fact that in Latin, the word

malum is used to mean both 'apple' and 'bad'.
16. In Hesiod's Works and Days, the situation is

given at the trick of the sacrifice that men and gods
are already split, as the gods are portrayed as

having hidden bios (grains) from humans. This may

be considered to mean that the ability to easily gain
food by cultivation is no longer an option for men.
17. Vernant, p. 185

Bibliography:

Primary Sources:
· References to Hesiod (Theogony 535-616 and Works

and Days 42-105) and Genesis are from my Classics
lecture handout - sorry, I can't give specific
bibliographic details.
Secondary Sources:

· G.S. Kirk, Myth – Its Meaning and Functions in
Ancient and Other Cultures (London, 1970) pp.

172-251

· G.S. Kirk, The Nature of Greek Myths

(Harmondsworth, 1974) pp. 136-143

· J.F. Nagy, 'The Deceptive Gift in Greek Mythology' in

Arethusa Vol. 14 (1981) pp. 191-204
· J. O'Brien and W. Major, In the Beginning – Creation

Myths from Ancient Mesopotamia, Israel and Greece

(1982) pp. 80-122

· B.B. Powell, Classical Myth (Upper Saddle River,

2004) pp. 111-23

· E.D. Reeder, 'Pandora' in Pandora – Women in
Classical Greece, ed. E.D. Reeder (Baltimore, 1995)

pp. 277-279

· E.D. Reeder, 'Women as Containers' in Pandora –
Women in Classical Greece, ed. E.D. Reeder

(Baltimore, 1995) pp. 195-199

· J-P. Vernant, Myth and Society in Ancient Greece,

trans. T. Lloyd (Brighton, 1980) pp. 168-85

· F.I. Zeitlin, 'The Economics of Hesiod's Pandora' in

Pandora – Women in Classical Greece, ed. E.D.

Reeder (Baltimore, 1995) pp. 49-55

Pandora,
the first woman on Earth

The story of Pandora came into prominence in
“Theogeny”, Hesiod’s epic poem, written circa 800 BC.
The myth dates back to the first centuries of humanity,
just after the Titanomachy, the Great War between the
Titans and the Olympians. It is interesting to note that the
reference to Pandora’s “Box” came only in the 16th
century from Erasmus of Rotterdam. The bottom line is
that the entire story about Pandora was fabricated. It
may be considered as a misogynist stand that the
creation of woman was the harbinger of all evil on this

world.

The creation of Pandora

All started from a gathering of the gods, where the
Titans were also invited. The gathering had been
organized to decide who would be favored with the better
portion of a sacrifice. Prometheus, the Titan who later
stole the fire from the Gods and gave it to humanity, had
deviously presented the sacrifice in such a manner that
Zeus chose the portion that looked more appealing when
in fact it was just bones presented in a tempting manner.
Outraged at this mockery, Zeus decided to take revenge
and get even with Prometheus. Zeus charged
Hephaestus, the god of smiths and master of crafts, with
creating a dazzlingly beautiful woman, one that would
appear irresistible to either god or man. To accomplish
this feat Aphrodite, the goddess of love, posed as a
model for the creation of the statue.

The woman was molded of earth and water and once the
body was ready, the Four Winds breathed life into it. She

was then given gifts from all the Olympian gods.
Aphrodite gave to her unparalleled beauty, grace and
desire. Hermes, the messenger god, gave her a cunning,
deceitful mind and a crafty tongue. Athena clothed her
and taught her to be deft with her hands. Poseidon
bestowed on her a pearl necklace that would prevent her
from drowning. Apollo taught her to play the lyre and to
sing. Zeus gave her a foolish, mischievous and idle
nature and last but not least, Hera gave her the wiliest
gift, curiosity. Thus, the first mortal woman was born
and she descended down to earth. Her name was
Pandora, meaning all-gifted, implying all the gifts she had
received from gods. Along with her, Hermes gave a
gilded and intricately carved box, a gift from Zeus with
an explicit warning that she must never open it, come
what may. Draped in raiment fit for the gods, she was
presented to Epimetheus, Prometheus' half-brother.

Opening the box

Epimetheus had been told by his brother never to accept
any gift from Zeus. Prometheus was well aware that Zeus

was still angry with him for his effrontery at the
gathering and would try to get his revenge. However, one
look at Pandora was all it took for Epimetheus to fall in
crazy love with her and marry her without thought or
consideration. He was truly enchanted with her. To
congratulate them, Hermes came to the wedding
ceremony and told Epimetheus that Pandora was a gift
from Zeus, a peace-offer signifying that there were no
more ill feelings between the chief of the gods and
Prometheus. He also told Epimetheus that the gilded box
of Pandora was a wedding gift from the Olympian King.
Being a bit credulous, Epimetheus believed Hermes’
words to be true. Unfortunately, Prometheus’ advice had
fallen on deaf ears.

The days were passing quickly and the two were leading
a happy, married life but one thought was still at the
back of Pandora’s mind: what was in the box that Zeus
had given her? She kept thinking that maybe the box had
money in it, nice clothes or even jewelry. Without thought
or reason, she would find herself walking past the box
and involuntarily reaching out to open it. Every time, she

was reminding herself that she had vowed never to open
the box. Hera’s gift of curiosity had worked and one day,
unable to take it any more, she decided to have just a
brief look inside. When nobody was around, she fitted a
golden key hanging around her neck to the lock on the
box. Turning the key slowly, she unlocked the box and
lifted the lid only for a while. Before she knew it, there
was a hissing sound and a horrible odor permeated the
air around her. Terrified, she slammed the lid down but it
was too late.

Pandora had released all the wickedness and
malevolence that Zeus had locked into the box. That time,
she understood that she was a mere pawn in a great
game played by the gods. In that gilded box, Zeus had
hidden all everything that would plague man forever:
sickness, death, turmoil, strife, jealousy, hatred, famine,
passion… everywhere the evil spread. Pandora felt the
weight of the world on her shoulders and looked at the
gilded box that had turned rusty and hideous. As if
sensing her need, a warm and calming feeling shrouded
her and she knew that not all was lost. Unknown to her,

along with the evil feelings, she had also revealed hope,
the only good thing that Zeus had trapped inside the box.
From now on, hole would live with man forever, to give
him succor just when he felt that everything was coming
to an end.

Pandora's box

The modern phrase “Pandora’s box” derives from this
myth. It is used to say that a certain action provoked
many evils, just like Pandora’s action to open the box
released all the evils of humanity. However, despite
these evils, we humans still have hope to encourage us.
This phrase was produced by the Dutch humanist and
theologian Erasmus of Rotterdam in the 16th century,
when he translated the poem of Hesiod.

Pandora and Eve

In this myth, we can observe some similarities with the
Christian story of Adam and Eve. Just like Pandora in
ancient Greece, Eve was known as the first woman on

earth in Hebrew history. Even the creation of the two
women is similar:

Pandora was made of earth and water and Eve from the
rib of Adam, the first man on earth, who was in his turn
made of slay.
Another similarity is that they both disobeyed god:
Pandora opened the box and unleashed evil in the world
and Eve tempted Adam to eat the forbidden apple, against
God’s will.

Some accounts maintain that Pandora tempted
Epimetheus into opening the box. However, both women
brought ruin and misfortune upon men who had so far
lived in a paradisiacal world, free from all sins.

Pandora and Eve are considered as the progenitors of
the human race and because of their curiosity, the world
is cursed today. Interestingly, Pandora was created with
vicious intentions but not so Eve, who was simply created
to be Adam’s companion.

The treachery lay in the role of Hermes and the Snake
respectively. In Pandora, Hermes instilled that she must
never open the box and had Hera not gifted her
“curiosity”, it may have remained closed forever. In the
Garden of Eden, the Snake tempted Eve to eat the
forbidden fruit from the Tree of Knowledge and Life,
bringing about realization and shame. From these two
stories, we can imply that women have forever been
seen as perpetrators of all that is deceitful and
therefore women are to blame for every evil on this
world

Pandora & Hephaestus

Pandora & Hephaestus, Athenian red-figureamphora
C5th B.C., Ashmolean Museum
PANDORA was the very first woman who was formed out
of clay by the gods. The Titan Prometheus had originally
been assigned with the task of creating man. But
because he was displeased with their lot, stole fire from
heaven. Zeus was angered, and commanded Hephaistos
and the other gods to create a woman, Pandora, and

endow her with the beauty and cunning. He then
delivered her to Epimetheus, the foolish younger brother
of Prometheus, for a bride. When he had received her

into his house, Pandora opened the pithos (storage jar)

which Zeus had given her as a wedding present, and
released the swarm of evil spirits trapped within. They
would ever afterwards plague mankind. Only Elpis (Hope)
remained behind, a single blessing to succor mankind in
their suffering.

Pandora's daughter Pyrrha (Fire) was the first-born
mortal child. She and her husband Deukalion alone
survived the Great Deluge. To repopulate the earth they
each cast stones over their shoulder. Those cast by
Deukalion formed men, and those of Pyrrha women.
In ancient Greek vase painting Pandora was depicted in
the scene of her creation as either a statue-like figure
surrounded by gods, or as a woman rising out of the

earth (the anodos). Sometimes she is surrounded by

dancing Satyroi, in a scene from a lost S
ENCYCLOPEDIA

PANDO′RA (Pandôra), i. e. the giver of all, or endowed

with every thing, is the name of the first woman on earth.
When Prometheus had stolen the fire from heaven, Zeus
in revenge caused Hephaestus to make a woman out of
earth, who by her charms and beauty should bring

misery upon the human race (Hes. Theog. 571, &c.; Stob.
Serin. 1). Aphrodite adorned her with beauty, Hermes

gave her boldness and cunning, and the gods called her
Pandora, as each of the Olympians had given her some
power by which she was to work the ruin of man. Hermes
took her to Epimetheus, who forgot the advice of his
brother Prometheus, not to accept any gift from Zeus,
and from that moment all miseries came down upon men

(Hes. Op. et Dies, 50, &c.). According to some

mythographers, Epimetheus became by her the father of

Pyrrha and Deucalion (Hygin. Fab. 142; Apollod. i. 7. § 2 ;
Procl. ad Hes. Op. p. 30, ed. Heinsius; Ov. Met. i. 350);

others make Pandora a daughter of Pyrrha and

Deucalion (Eustath. ad Hom. p. 23). Later writers speak

of a vessel of Pandora, containing all the blessings of the
gods, which would have been preserved for the human
race, had not Pandora opened the vessel, so that the
winged blessings escaped irrecoverably. The birth of

Pandora was represented on the pedestal of the statue
of Athena, in the Parthenon at Athens (Paus. i. 24. § 7). In
the Orphic poems Pandora occurs as an infernal awful
divinity, and is associated with Hecate and the Erinnyes

(Orph. Argon. 974). Pandora also occurs as a surname

of Gaea (Earth), as the giver of all.atyr-play of

Sophokles. (Schol. ad Aristoph. Av. 970; Philostr. Vit.
Apoll. vi. 39; Hesych. s.v.)

Source: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and
Mythology.

Homer, The Iliad 24. 527 ff (trans. Lattimore) (Greek
epic C8th B.C.) :
"There are two urns (pithoi) that stand on the door-sill

of Zeus. They are unlike for the gifts they bestow : an urn

of evils (kakoi), an urn of blessings (dôroi). If Zeus who

delights in thunder mingles these and bestows them on
man, he shifts, and moves now in evil, again in good
fortune. But when Zeus bestows from the urn of
sorrows, he makes a failure of man, and hte evil hunger
drives him over the shining earth, and he wanders
resepected neither of gods nor mortals."

[N.B. Later writers describe Zeus giving one of these two
jars to Pandora. The poets were at odds as to which jar

she received--Hesiod says the jar of evils (kakoi), but

Theognis and Aesop claim it was the jar of blessings

(dôroi). The name Pan-dôra ("all-gifts") naturally

suggests the latter.]

Hesiod, Works & Days 54 ff (trans. Evelyn-White) (Greek
epic C8th or C7th B.C.) :

"The gods keep hidden from men the means of life . . .
Zeus in the anger of his heart hid it, because Prometheus
the crafty deceived him; therefore he planned sorrow
and mischief against men. He hid fire; but that the noble
son of Iapetus stole again for men from Zeus the
counsellor in a hollow fennel-stalk, so that Zeus who
delights in thunder did not see it. But afterwards Zeus
who gathers the clouds said to him in anger : `Son of
Iapetos, surpassing all in cunning, you are glad that you
have outwitted me and stolen fire--a great plague to you
yourself and to men that shall be. But I will give men as
the price for fire an evil thing in which they may all be
glad of heart while they

embrace their own destruction.'
So said the father of men and gods, and laughed aloud.
And he bade famous Hephaistos make haste and mix
earth with water and to put in it the voice and strength of
human kind, and fashion a sweet, lovely maiden-shape,
like to the immortal goddesses in face; and Athene to
teach her needlework and the weaving of the varied web;
and golden Aphrodite to shed grace upon her head and
cruel longing and cares that weary the limbs. And he
charged Hermes the guide, the Slayer of Argus, to put in
her a shameless mind and a deceitful nature. So he
ordered. And they obeyed the lord Zeus the son of
Kronos. Forthwith the famous Lame God moulded clay in
the likeness of a modest maid, as the son of Kronos
purposed. And the goddess bright-eyed Athene girded
and clothed her, and the divine Kharites (Graces) and
queenly Peitho (Persuasion) put necklaces of gold upon
her, and the rich-haired Horai (Seasons) crowned her
head with spring flowers. And Pallas Athene bedecked
her form with all manners of finery. Also the Guide, the
Slayer of Argus [Hermes], contrived within her lies and
crafty words and a deceitful nature at the will of loud

thundering Zeus, and the Herald of the gods put speech
in her. And he called this woman Pandora (All-Gifts),
because all they who dwelt on Olympus gave each a gift,
a plague to men who eat bread.

But when he had finished the sheer, hopeless snare, the
Father sent glorious Argus-Slayer [Hermes], the swift
messenger of the gods, to take it to Epimetheus as a gift.
And Epimetheus did not think on what Prometheus had
said to him, bidding him never take a gift of Olympian
Zeus, but to send it back for fear it might prove to be
something harmful to men. But he took the gift, and
afterwards, when the evil thing was already his, he
understood. For ere this the tribes of men lived on earth

remote and free from ills (kakoi) and hard toil (ponoi)
and heavy sickness (nosoi) which bring the Keres (Fates)

upon men; for in misery men grow old quickly. But the

woman took off the great lid of the jar (pithos) with her

hands and scattered all these and her thought caused
sorrow and mischief to men. Only Elpis (Hope) remained
there in an unbreakable home within under the rim of the
great jar, and did not fly out at the door; for ere that, the

lid of the jar stopped her, by the will of Aigis-holding Zeus
who gathers the clouds. But the rest, countless plagues

(lugra), wander amongst men; for earth is full of evils
and the sea is full. Of themselves diseases (nosoi) come

upon men continually by day and by night, bringing
mischief to mortals silently; for wise Zeus took away
speech from them. So is there no way to escape the will
of Zeus."

T1.4

PANDORA,

T22.1 T22.2 T22.3 DANCING
PANDORA, PANDORA, PANDORA, SATYRS

HEPHAIST APHRODIT HEPHAIST

OS, E, ARES OS,

HERMES ATHENE

Hesiod, Theogony 510 ff (trans. Evelyn-White) (Greek
epic C8th or C7th B.C.) :

"Scatter-brained Epimetheus who from the first was a
mischief to men who eat bread; for it was he who first
took of Zeus the woman [i.e. Pandora], the maiden whom
he had formed."

Hesiod, Theogony 560 ff :

"[Zeus] was always mindful of the trick [of Prometheus
who won for mankind the meat of the sacrificial beast],
and would not give the power of unwearying fire to the
Melian race of mortal men who live on the earth. But the
noble son of Iapetos [Prometheus] outwitted him and
stole the far-seen gleam of unwearying fire in a hollow
fennel stalk. And Zeus who thunders on high was stung in
spirit, and his dear heart was angered when he saw
amongst men the far-seen ray of fire. Forthwith he made
an evil thing for men as the price of fire; for the very
famous Limping God [Hephaistos] formed of earth the
likeness of a shy maiden [i.e. Pandora] as the son of
Kronos willed. And the goddess bright-eyed Athene

girded and clothed her with silvery raiment, and down
from her head she spread with her hands an
embroidered veil, a wonder to see; and she, Pallas
Athene, put about her head lovely garlands, flowers of
new-grown herbs. Also she put upon her head a crown of
gold which the very famous Limping God made
himself and worked with his own hands as a favor to Zeus
his father. On it was much curious work, wonderful to
see; for of the many creatures which the land and sea
rear up, he put most upon it, wonderful things, ike living
beings with voices: and great beauty shone out from it.

But when he had made the beautiful evil to be the price
for the blessing, he brought her out, delighting in the
finery which the bright-eyed daughter of a mighty father
had given her, to the place where the other gods and
men were. And wonder took hold of the deathless gods
and mortal men when they saw that which was sheer
guile, not to be withstood by men. For from her is the
race of women and female kind : of her is the deadly race
and tribe of women who live amongst mortal men to their
great trouble, no helpmeets in hateful poverty, but only

in wealth. And as in thatched hives bees feed the drones
whose nature is to do mischief--by day and throughout
the day until the sun goes down the bees are busy and
lay the white combs, while the drones stay at home in the
covered hives and reap the toil of others into their own
bellies--even so Zeus who thunders on high made women
to be an evil to mortal men, with a nature to do evil. And l
he gave them a second evil to be the price for the good
they had: whoever avoids marriage and the sorrows that
women cause, and will not wed, reaches deadly old
agewithout anyone to tend his years, and though he at
least has no lack of livelihood while he lives, yet, when he
is dead, his kinsfolk divide his possessions amongst
them. And as for the man who chooses the lot of
marriage and takes a good wife suited to his mind, evil
continually contends with good; for whoever happens to
have mischievous children, lives always with unceasing
grief in his spirit and heart within him; and this evil
cannot be healed. So it is not possible to deceive or go
beyond the will of Zeus : for not even the son of Iapetos,
kindly Prometheus, escaped his heavy anger, but of
necessity strong bands confined him, although he knew

many a wile."

Theognis, Fragment 1. 1135 (trans. Gerber, Vol. Greek
Elegiac) (Greek elegy C6th B.C.) :

"Elpis (Hope) is the only good god remaining among
mankind; the others have left and gone to Olympos. Pistis
(Trust), a mighty god has gone, Sophrosyne (Restraint)
has gone from men, and the Kharites (Graces), my
friend, have abandoned the earth. Men’s judicial oaths
are no longer to be trusted, nor does anyone revere the
immortal gods; the race of pious men has perished and
men no longer recognize the rules of conduct or acts of
piety." [N.B. Theognis' account is the inverse of Hesiod's :
the good spirits escaped from Pandora's jar, abandoning
mankind in their flight to heaven.]

Aesop, Fables 526 (from Babrius 58) (trans. Gibbs)
(Greek fable C6th B.C.) :

"Zeus gathered all the useful things together in a jar and
put a lid on it. He then left the jar in human hands. But
man had no self-control and he wanted to know what was
in that jar, so he pushed the lid aside, letting those things
go back to the abode of the gods. So all the good things

flew away, soaring high above the earth, and Elpis (Hope)
was the only thing left. When the lid was put back on the
jar, Elpis (Hope) was kept inside. That is why Elpis (Hope)
alone is still found among the people, promising that she
will bestow on each of us the good things that have gone
away." [N.B. By "in human hands," the story o Pandora
delivering the jar to mankind is implied. However, in this
version it is apparently the husband who opens it.]

Aesop, Fables 525 (from Chambry 1) (trans. Gibbs)
(Greek fable C6th B.C.) :

"The Good Things were too weak to defend themselves
from the Bad Things, so the Bad Things drove them off to
heaven. The Good Things then asked Zeus how they could
reach mankind. Zeus told them that they should not go
together all at once, only one at a time. This is why
people are constantly besieged by Bad Things, since they
are nearby, while Good Things come more rarely, since
they must descend to us from heaven one by one." [N.B.
This fable describes the spirits which had fled Pandora's
jar. It also refers to the two jars by the throne of Zeus in

the Iliad, one containing Good Things, the other Evils.]