Closely linked to the myth of Prometheus, we find the one featuring Pandora. As soon as Zeus had severely punished the Titan who had rebelled against the gods, he ordered Hephaestus (Vulcan) to create a woman full of virtues, beauty, and every possible quality.
The god—lame and misshapen, husband of Aphrodite and firstborn of Zeus and Hera, the very symbol of creativity—immediately set to work, giving his best (this episode strongly recalls the Book of Genesis and the creation of Adam and Eve).
The woman thus created (a far cry from cloning!) was named Pandora, meaning “all gifts.” She was sent, as a gift, to Prometheus’s brother, Epimetheus, who was also a Titan. Knowing how things had gone for his brother, Epimetheus distrusted the gods and their gifts—and who could blame him?
However, Pandora’s beauty was overwhelming, and Epimetheus fell madly in love with her. The two were united and had a daughter named Pyrrha, meaning “red.”
Pandora, while still on Olympus, had been entrusted with a jar and ordered never to open it under any circumstances. She obeyed for a while, but temptation grew too strong—and she did not know that the jar contained all the evils of the world. (Doesn’t that remind you a bit of Eve?)
As was predictable—and surely well-foreseen on Olympus—Pandora, driven by the curiosity instilled in her by Hermes, opened the jar, and the most terrible evils spread throughout the world. Humanity, which until then had lived a carefree life, suddenly found itself surrounded by calamities and dreadful misfortunes.
Old age, disease, plague, and earthquakes fell upon humankind with no chance of salvation. From that moment on, life would be sorrowful and bleak. (Eden was lost!)
But it wasn’t over yet. Pandora lifted the lid of the jar once more. At the bottom remained Hope, which then escaped as well, spreading across the Earth and offering humanity one last chance.
Even today, we often hear the expression: “to open Pandora’s box.” Whoever says it means that the time has come when what was hidden inside ourselves can no longer be concealed—a moment of liberation, a moment of awareness.
As you can see, even in this myth we find biblical echoes—civilizations often intertwine.
Excerpt from: “Greek Myths and Beyond,” by the usual Nino Salzone, a.k.a. Cenides YCP 2024.
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