They were all the afflictions and ills that humanity could ever know, kept inside one large jar with a lid covering them.
However, these gifts were apparently not benevolent gifts at all. Pandora was to take care of the box but never open it. Zeus then gifted Pandora a box and asked the other gods to place inside the box gifts for the humans. Athena gifted her beautiful robes and taught her weaving. Aphrodite taught her grace and femininity. Zeus commanded Hephaestus, the smith of the Greek gods, to create Pandora, the first woman, as a punishment to be visited upon mankind.Ī human body was crafted from clay by Hephaestus, while Hermes taught Pandora lying and trickery. Who was Pandora in Greek Mythology?Īccording to Greek mythology, Zeus, the king of the gods, was so angry when Prometheus stole fire from heaven and gifted it to mankind that he decided the human race needed to be punished for this. And it can all be traced back to the one whom the Greeks thought was the first woman ever created, Pandora.
Pandoras box ff7 full#
The Pandora myth is a lesson on human weaknesses but it is also an explanation for why men lead difficult and hard lives, full of misfortunes and sorrow. The most well-known source of this myth is perhaps the ancient Greek poet, Hesiod’s, Works and Days.įor the Greeks, it was an essential story to show the downfalls of human nature and curiosity. The birth of Pandora was represented on the pedestal of the statue of Athena situated at the Parthenon on the Acropolis in Athens.The story of Pandora and her box is a very important one in Greek mythology. The main purpose of the myth of Pandora though is to address the question of why evil exists in the world. The myth itself though appears in many different versions the most distinctive difference is that in some myths Hope does come out. The myth of Pandora’s box has been fascinating people since ever, catching the imagination of countless artists, who created frescos, mosaics and sculptures depicting Pandora and the mythological elements. Pandora was the right person to do it, because she was curious enough, but not malicious. Pandora was scared, because she saw all the evil spirits coming out and tried to close the box as fast as possible, closing Hope inside.Īccording to Hesiod Hope indeed stayed inside because that was Zeus’ will he wanted to let people suffer in order to understand that they should not disobey their gods. Pandora was trying to tame her curiosity, but at the end she could not hold herself anymore she opened the box and all the illnesses and hardships that gods had hidden in the box started coming out.
Prometheus had advised Epimetheus not to accept anything from the Gods, but he saw Pandora and was astonished by her beauty, thus he accepted her right away. Then Hermes took her to Epimetheus, brother of Prometheus, to be his wife. Gods told her that the box contained special gifts from them but she was not allowed to open the box ever. Pandora was given a box or a jar, called “pithos” in Greek. Hermes was ordered by Zeus to teach her to be deceitful, stubborn and curious. Hephaestus created her from clay, shaping her perfectly, Aphrodite gave her femininity and Athena taught her crafts. Her gifts were beautifully evil, according to Hesiod. Pandora was created as a punishment to the mankind Zeus wanted to punish people because Prometheus stole the fire to give it to them. She was created by Gods each one of them gave her a gift, thus, her name in Greek means “the one who bears all gifts”. Pandora was, according to the myth, the first woman on Earth. Ancient Greeks used this myth not only to instruct themselves about the weaknesses of humans, but also to explain several misfortunes of the human race. The myth of Pandora’s box is considered one of the most descriptive myths of human behavior in Greek mythology.
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