The Mythology Book

40

HER IMPULSE

INTRODUCED SORROW

AND MISCHIEF TO

THE LIVES OF MEN

PANDORA’S BOX

I

n Hesiod’s account of

humanity’s mythic origins,

Works and Days, man was first

created alone, with no female mate

to accompany him on his journey

through the world. Woman would

make her first appearance not as

man’s helpmate and partner, but

as his punishment.

A jealous god

When the Titan Prometheus stole

fire from the gods, he did much

to empower humanity, at high

personal cost. In an existence

that had been largely trouble-free,

humanity, to whom he gave the

gift of fire, continued to thrive and

prosper. As punishment, however,

Prometheus would be held captive

and tortured eternally at the hands

of Zeus, who was a jealous and

grudging deity. Far from rejoicing

in man’s improving fortunes, the

god felt threatened by humanity’s

growing confidence.

Zeus concluded that in order to

correct the balance between divine

and human power, some great

calamity in the world was required.

That calamity was woman. On

Zeus’s orders, the blacksmith and

fire god Hephaestus set to work,

shaping soft clay into a female mate

for man.

Gilding the lily

The other Olympians then added

their own contributions to the

woman’s make-up: Aphrodite gave

her beauty and attractiveness;

Athena gave her skill in sewing;

Hera gave her curiosity; and so on.

Hermes, the gods’ messenger, gave

woman the power of speech to help

her communicate—but he also

gave her the dangerous gift of

guile. This new woman was

enchanting in her beauty, seductive

in her softness, inspiring in

her smile, and soothing in her

gentleness. In light of these traits,

IN BRIEF

THEME

Origins of evil

SOURCE

Works and Days, Hesiod,

ca. 700 bce.

SETTING

The foot of Mount Olympus,

Greece.

KEY FIGURES

Prometheus Titan brother

of Epimetheus; creator

of humanity—and its

greatest benefactor.

Zeus King of the gods

of Mount Olympus.

Hephaestus Olympian

blacksmith god and creator

of the first woman.

Pandora The first woman;

created on Zeus’s instruction.

Epimetheus Titan brother

of Prometheus.

The glorious lame god

molded clay into the

shape of a demure and

decorous young maiden.

Works and Days

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41

Pandora, as depicted by the British

Pre-Raphaelite artist Dante Gabriel

Rossetti (1828–1882). She is holding the

infamous box from which all the

troubles of the world poured forth.

See also: The Olympian gods 24–31 ■ Prometheus helps mankind 36–39 ■ The Mead of Poetry 142–43 ■

Nanga Baiga 212–13

ANCIENT GREECE

she was given the name Pandora

(literally meaning “all gifts”). Her

name alone would have caused

Prometheus concern. He had

previously warned his brother

Epimetheus not to accept any

offering from Zeus, in case it

unleashed “some evil thing for

mortal men.” However, due to

the punishment of Prometheus,

Epimetheus had been left in charge

in the world of men. Whereas

Prometheus’s name meant

“Thinking Ahead” or “Foresight,”

Epimetheus’s meant “Thinking

After.” He was gullible and did

not stop to think when Zeus’s

messenger Hermes presented him

with Pandora as a goodwill present

to humanity from Zeus. Nor did he

give a second glance to the present

that she herself brought with her, a

pithos or ceramic jar (usually

reimagined as a richly ornamented

box in modern retellings). The all-

gifted girl was both gift and giver.

Fatal curiosity

There was nothing inherently evil

about Pandora. Although she had

been warned against opening the

pithon, it was her innocent

curiosity —a characteristic given by

Hera—that led to her downfall.

When she could not resist peeping

inside the jar, she pulled back the

lid, and all the ills and misfortunes

of the world flew out: Hunger,

Sickness, Loss, Loneliness, and

Death. Horrified, Pandora hastily

pushed the lid back on—just in

time to prevent Hope from

escaping. With hope, the world

could still persevere, despite the

adversity that the jealous Zeus

had inflicted on mankind. ■

Hephaestus At least one source states that

Hephaestus was ugly and squat

from birth, which explains why he

was thrown from the top of Mount

Olympus by his disgusted mother,

Hera. Landing further down the

mountain with a crash, he was

then rendered lame as well.

The unprepossessing

appearance of this first divine

artisan was in sharp and highly

symbolic contrast to the beauty of

the many things that he created.

He was often aided by attendants,

such as Cedalion, who helped

with his creations. Hephaestus

is widely known as the Greek

“blacksmith god” and presided

over manufacture in its broadest

sense—perfecting his craft in

everything from metalwork and

the manufacture of weapons

to fine jewelry and intricate

items of clothing.

Of all his many creations,

Pandora is certainly the most

wonderful—and the most

flawed. According to Hesiod, it

was Hephaestus who created the

first woman, thereby enabling

each generation of humanity to

repeatedly replicate itself. In this

sense, the craft of Hephaestus

gave birth to humanity’s future.

Prometheus had warned

him never to accept

a gift from Zeus.

Works and Days

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