Pandora's Box - Myth on Curiosity
- mysteryhat4u
- 12 hours ago
- 4 min read
WHO IS PANDORA?
Women have been portrayed as dangerous and lethal across several cultures. Hence, it's no big surprise when Greek god Zeus created the first mortal woman named Pandora to punish humankind. The myth is similar to Genesis regarding the creation of the first woman, Eve, from the ribs of the first man with a darker twist.
An interesting fact is that humankind consisted of men; after they had degenerated, then came the creation of women. Zeus's purpose for the creation of Pandora was to punish men for Prometheus's cleverness. It is ultimate power domination between the gods, and their wrath was unleashed on mankind.
To track the origin date of Pandora's myth has proven to be difficult, as it is widely known that Hesiod's works were not arranged in chronological order. Perhaps it can occur after the Silver Age, as the story of Pandora is linked with the titan Prometheus.
Pandora's myth is similar to the creation story of Adam and Eve, in which Eve is tempted by the apple of forbidden fruit, nudged by Satan disguised as a snake, and brings an end to blessed life in the Garden of Eden.
THE FIVE AGES OF MANKIND
In the Greek myth of creation, as recorded in the Greek poet Hesiod’s ‘Works and Days’ (8th century BC), there were five ages as mentioned below:
The Golden Age: In this the men were immortals residing on Olympus. Their appearance was of gold, and they lived glorious lives like gods. Even though the Golden Age was over, the men turned into good spirits that watched over mortals, sort of like an angel.
The Silver Age: The men were made of silver and also remain on Olympus. However, their immortality was stripped away.
Bronze Age: Instead of silver, they were made of bronze.
Heroic Age: Era of Greek Heroes rising upon the Earth.
Iron Age: The age where men witness hardship and suffering. It began due to constant wars that led to the end of the Bronze Age and Heroic Age.
PROMETHEUS'S CLEVERNESS & ZEUS'S WRATH
The tale begins at Mekone ...
It was at this place that Prometheus cut up an ox and then divided it into two portions for humans and gods. The smaller portion contained the meat of the animal wrapped up in the ox’s stomach, which was given to humans to consume the edible meat. As Prometheus imagined, the larger one, which had the animal’s bones covered with glistening fat, was taken and consumed by gods. In such chaos, Prometheus stole fire from Mount Olympus to share it with humans.
The trickery enraged the god of sky and thunder. Zeus decided to punish Prometheus by chaining him up with his liver being devoured and regrowing every night. Yet this didn't appease Zeus. He withheld fire from mankind to consume cooked meat.
A GIFT - PANDORA
Zeus's punishment was cruel and merciless, but he decided to teach them a lesson too. Then he lays a command on Hephaestus, the god of craftsmanship, to create the first woman named Pandora. She was created out of water and earth with perfection while being given a human voice. Soon gods blessed Pandora with numerous gifts. Goddess Athena dressed Pandora in a shimmering silver gown and taught her weaving. Aphrodite, the goddess of love, bestowed seductive charm and yearning. Hermes, the messenger god, gave Pandora a cunning mind and lusty voice. Each god and goddess blessed, or you could say cursed, Pandora with powerful gifts to bring forth the downfall of humankind. Pandora was given this name as it literally means "all gifts," but ironically it is the ultimate gift of destruction.
Laying out the next plan,
Zeus sent Hermes to Epimetheus, the brother of Prometheus, and gifted Pandora to him. Although being warned by Prometheus not to accept gifts from Zeus, Epimetheus, with the very first glance, fell in love with Pandora and married her.
PANDORA'S OBSESSIVE CURIOSITY
In Hesiod’s original version, the gift was actually a 'pithos,' which translates to jar. It was not until the 16th century, yet in the 16th century, the word was mistranslated to mean 'box.' Hence, landing on the popular idiom "Pandora's box."
Before sending Pandora to Epimetheus, Zeus gifted the pithos full of curses to Pandora with the specific instruction not to ever open it, knowing Pandora's consuming curiosity will destroy mankind. After marrying Epimetheus, Pandora never fathomed the reason for not opening the wedding gift. As soon as Epimetheus left his home, Pandora opened the lid of the pithos and unleashed curses such as death, sorrow, disease, poverty, and so on, including hope, a miracle, before shutting down the lid, yet it was too late and is to this date being suffered by men.
In some myths, Hope was kept trapped in the box in order to make it good to be separated from evil, providing no silver lining to humanity. Yet, hope can be seen as a curse too, as it came out of evil boxes. It builds up unrealistic expectations rather than owning the hardship and facing it full-on. Creates a dependency that leads to humans' downfall if the situation is not assessed correctly. The understanding of hope shows us how this complex phenomenon can be both a light and a suffering, depending on what we think and do with it.
By Mysteryhat4u
Every mystery has another chapter...
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