Pandora’s Box

Featured Patron God: Zeus

Background: Has your curiosity ever got you into trouble? Have you ever been so desperate to know a
secret that you took no notice of a warning? All through history there are stories of people being told
not to open doors, caskets, cupboards, gates and all sorts of other things and, in so many of the
stories, the people just did not listen. One person who did not listen was Pandora. Her story comes
from Ancient Greece and her curiosity brought a whole heap of trouble!

In ancient Greece there were two brothers named Epimetheus and Prometheus. They upset the gods
and annoyed the most powerful of all Gods, Zeus, in particular. This was not the first time humans
had upset Zeus, and once before, as punishment, he had taken from humans the ability to make fire.
This meant they could no longer cook their meat and could not keep themselves warm.

However, Prometheus was clever and he knew that, on the Isle of Lemnos, lived Hephaestus, the god
who was a blacksmith. He had a fire burning to keep his forge hot. Prometheus travelled to Lemnos
and stole fire from the blacksmith. Zeus was furious and decided that humans had to be punished
once and for all for their lack of respect.

Zeus came up with a very cunning plan to punish the two brothers. With the help of Hephaestus, he
created a woman from clay. The goddess Athena then breathed life into the clay, Aphrodite made her
very beautiful and Hermes taught her how to be both charming and deceitful. Zeus called her
Pandora and sent her as a gift to Epimetheus.

His brother Prometheus had warned him not to accept any gifts from the gods but Epimetheus was
completely charmed by the woman and thought Pandora was so beautiful that she could never cause
any harm, so he agreed to marry her.

Zeus, pleased that his trap was working, gave Pandora a wedding gift of a beautiful box. There was
one very, very important condition however, that she must never opened the box. Pandora was very
curious about the contents of the box but she had promised that she would never open it.

All she could think about was; what could be in the box? She could not understand why someone
would send her a box if she could not see what was in it. It seemed to make no sense at all to her and
she could think of nothing else but of opening the box and unlocking its secrets. This was just what
Zeus had planned.

Finally, Pandora could stand it no longer. When she knew Epimetheus was out of sight, she crept up
to the box, took the huge key off the high shelf, fitted it carefully into the lock and turned it. But, at
the last moment, she felt a pang of guilt, imagined how angry her husband would be and quickly
locked the box again without opening the lid and put the key back where she had found it. Three
more times she did this until, at last, she knew she had to look inside or she would go completely
mad!
She took the key, slid it into the lock and turned it. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes and
slowly lifted the lid of the box. She opened her eyes and looked into the box, expecting to see fine
silks, gowns or gold bracelets and necklaces or even piles of gold coins.

But there was no gleam of gold or treasure. There were no shining bracelets and not one beautiful
dress! The look of excitement on her face quickly turned to one of disappointment and then horror.
For Zeus had packed the box full of all the terrible evils he could think of. Out of the box poured
disease and poverty. Out came misery, out came death, out came sadness - all shaped like tiny
buzzing moths.

The creatures stung Pandora over and over again and she slammed the lid shut. Epimetheus ran into
the room to see why she was crying in pain. Pandora could still hear a voice calling to her from the
box, pleading with her to be let out. Epimetheus agreed that nothing inside the box could be worse
than the horrors that had already been released, so they opened the lid once more.

All that remained in the box was Hope. It fluttered from the box like a beautiful dragonfly, touching
the wounds created by the evil creatures, and healing them. Even though Pandora had released pain
and suffering upon the world, she had also allowed Hope to follow them.
 Period: 12:30-1:30

Name: Mark Anthony B. Baltucon Date: April 17, 2024

Greek Mythology
Title of Greek Myth you read: Pandora's Box

CHARACTERS: LPandora: She is the central character of the story, created by the gods as
the first woman. The main "rule" associated with Pandora is the warning against curiosity a
nd disobedience. She is cautioned not to open the jar (often misinterpreted as a box), but
her curiosity leads her to do so, ultimately releasing all the evils into the world.
Zeus: The king of the gods, Zeus plays a significant role in the story by giving Pandora the
jar containing all the evils of the world. His "rule," if you will, is to test Pandora's
obedience and to teach a lesson about the consequences of curiosity and disobedience.
Epimetheus: Pandora's husband, who receives Pandora as a gift from the gods. His "rule" is
more implicit, as he is likely warned by his brother Prometheus
Prometheus: Though not directly involved in the Pandora story, Prometheus is Pandora's
brother-in-law and plays a role in the broader context of Greek mythology.

Summary: Summarize the main events and

happenings of the myth in your own words. You Purpose: Come up with a couple of
reasons why the Ancient Greeks would
tell and share the myth you read. Think
summary should be at least 4 sentences. about: Does it teach any moral lessons?
Does it help explain Greek mythology?
Ｐａｎｄｏｒａ＇ｓ Ｂｏｘ ｔｅｌｌｓ ｔｈｅ ｓｔｏｒｙ ｏｆ ａ ｃｕｒｉｏｕｓ
Why would humans want to tell this
ｗｏｍａｎ， Ｐａｎｄｏｒａ， ｗｈｏ ｒｅｃｅｉｖｅｓ ａ ｊａｒ ｆｒｏｍ story?
ｔｈｅ ｇｏｄｓ ｗｉｔｈ ｓｔｒｉｃｔ ｉｎｓｔｒｕｃｔｉｏｎｓ ｎｏｔ ｔｏ __Yes, Pandora's Box teaches
ｏｐｅｎ ｉｔ． Ｈｏｗｅｖｅｒ， ｏｖｅｒｃｏｍｅ ｂｙ ｈｅｒ moral lessons about curiosity,
disobedience, and the
ｃｕｒｉｏｓｉｔｙ， ｓｈｅ ｕｎｌｏｃｋｓ ｔｈｅ ｊａｒ， ｕｎｌｅａｓｈｉｎｇ
consequences of giving in to
ａ ｍｕｌｔｉｔｕｄｅ ｏｆ ｅｖｉｌｓ ｕｐｏｎ ｔｈｅ ｗｏｒｌｄ． Ｔｈｉｓ temptation. It serves as a
ａｃｔ ｓｙｍｂｏｌｉｚｅｓ ｔｈｅ ｆｒａｇｉｌｉｔｙ ｏｆ ｈｕｍａｎ cautionary tale within Greek
ｎａｔｕｒｅ ａｎｄ ｔｈｅ ｃｏｎｓｅｑｕｅｎｃｅｓ ｏｆ ｓｕｃｃｕｍｂｉｎｇ mythology, explaining the origins
ｔｏ ｔｅｍｐｔａｔｉｏｎ． Ｄｅｓｐｉｔｅ ｔｈｅ ｃｈａｏｓ ｕｎｌｅａｓｈｅｄ of human suffering and the
enduring presence of hope.
， ｈｏｐｅ ｒｅｍａｉｎｓ， ｓｅｒｖｉｎｇ ａｓ ａ ｂｅａｃｏｎ ｏｆ
Humans may tell this story to
ｒｅｓｉｌｉｅｎｃｅ ａｎｄ ｏｐｔｉｍｉｓｍ ａｍｉｄｓｔ ａｄｖｅｒｓｉｔｙ． impart wisdom about the dangers
Ｏｖｅｒａｌｌ， Ｐａｎｄｏｒａ＇ｓ ｓｔｏｒｙ ｓｅｒｖｅｓ ａｓ ａ of curiosity and disobedience, as
ｔｉｍｅｌｅｓｓ ｒｅｍｉｎｄｅｒ ｏｆ ｔｈｅ ｃｏｍｐｌｅｘｉｔｉｅｓ ｏｆ well as to explore themes of
resilience and the human condition
ｈｕｍａｎ ｎａｔｕｒｅ ａｎｄ ｔｈｅ ｅｎｄｕｒｉｎｇ ｐｏｗｅｒ ｏｆ
.
ｈｏｐｅ ｉｎ ｔｈｅ ｆａｃｅ ｏｆ ｄｅｓｐａｉｒ．