Pandora’s Box: The Origin of All Man’s Woes
by From: More Prisoners of Eternity.
From the tale of Eve and the Apple, to the myth of the chastity belt, the burnings of the Witch trials, and the use of the veil. Women have always been feared and never trusted. Whether in myth or reality, Pandora has always stepped in man’s shadow and sent a chill down his spine.
Pandora, the mythology of woman or the reality through the centuries. Is the myth really so removed from the truth. Is the story of Pandora not the story of woman, and how in a man’s world women have always been thought of and treated?
In a world ruled by God’s and populated by men, where there were no women, man had but one friend and he was the God Prometheus. Zeus, however, the Father of the God’s, was scornful of man and held them in contempt. He was determined that they should remain primitive and barbarians. Prometheus was sick of Zeus’s disdain and his constant meddling in the affairs of man and so he played a trick on Zeus at a banquet and the Father of the God’s was made to look a fool. Zeus was not amused and as a punishment he removed fire from man. They would never enjoy the pleasure of cooked food again and with the heat of fire to warm them they would surely die. So Prometheus stole fire from Zeus and returned it to man. But Zeus was a vengeful and unforgiving God and he was determined to punish man for all eternity and so he hatched an evil plan. He ordered Hephaestus, the blacksmith to create a mortal being of stunning beauty. But with that beauty would come a lying tongue and a deceptive heart. Hephaestus laboured day and night and what he moulded from the barren earth was a masterpiece. With some pride he presented it to the other God’s. Athene, the daughter of Zeus, liked what she saw and breathed life into it. She clothed it, and taught it to cook and weave. Aphrodite, the Goddess of love, made it sensual and alluring. Hermes, provided it with charm and made it mercurial. Zeus was delighted and named her, Pandora, the first woman.
Zeus, delighted at his creation, laid his trap. He offered Pandora as a gift to Epimethus, the brother of Prometheus. He had been warned by Prometheus never to accept a gift from Zeus. But as his own brother endured eternal torment, bound and ravaged day and night by vultures, Epimetheus was falling hopelessly in love. Soon he married Pandora. Zeus was delighted and sent them a beautiful box as a wedding gift, but he also sent them a letter warning them never to open it. At first Pandora did not mind but as time passed her inquisitiveness became unbearable. She begged Epimethus to look inside, but he forbade her.
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Post CommentK.Reshma
On November 11, 2009 at 12:32 pm
Very nice
CaSundara
On November 13, 2009 at 12:24 pm
Cool article. I’m studying Greek history and mythology at the moment and it’s fascinating stuff. I have a poem here written by Semonides which I find hysterical. He compares women to various animals and generally insults them, reiterating Hesiod’s opinion. The funny thing is, what he says in the poem isn’t exactly untrue – it just needs balancing with an accurate description of men (written by women). I’m really enjoying learning about ancient Greek culture, and especially their attitudes towards sex. I got a whole load of books on sexuality, rape and magic in antiquity, and I’m totally engrossed.
Kim Seabrook
On November 13, 2009 at 12:54 pm
Thanks K and Cass. It is a fascinating study Cass, and I can understand why you are enjoying it so much. There is a wonderful scene in Lysistrata when the Athenian women gather around to ogle a Spartan woman,so unusual is she. You may already be aware of it, but it is worth picking up the DVD The Spartans by Bethany Hughes, if you can find it. The more you study it the more you realise that we know little more about gender, sexuality, and the psychology of humankind now than we did then. Though we like to think otherwise. I have to admit that of all the history I have written I have enjoyed writing, and I must say learning, about women more than anything else. Traditionally it has been men that have written the history, but it might surprise many just how often it has been women who have made it.