2. • Zeus ordered
Hephaestus to create a
woman with water and
clay as part of the
punishment of
humanity for
Prometheus' theft of
the secret of fire. Zeus
gave her life and the
other gods gave her
some gifts: Athena gave
her wisdom,Venus
beauty, Hermes
cunning etc.
JohnWilliamWaterhouse:
Pandora, 1896
3. • They named her Pandora (Greek, Πανδώρα,
derived from πᾶς "all" and δῶρον "gift", thus
"all-gifted" or "all-giving") and sented her on
earth with a jar where Zeus had closed all the
calamities.
The creation of Pandora. Creation of Pandora: Zeus, Hermes, Epimetheus
and Pandora.
4. • When Pandora arrived on
earth, was very curious
about the content of the
jar so she opened it
releasing all the evils of
humanity such as hate,
deception, war, hunger,
disease. Although, at the
bottom of the jar, Zeus
had put Hope that nested
in the hearts of people,
giving them courage and
consolation to continue
their lives.
This is an engraving of Pandora trying to
close the box that she had opened out of
curiosity.At left, the evils of the world
taunt her as they escape.The engraving is
based on a painting by F.S. Church.
5. • The mistranslation of pithos, a large storage jar, as "box" is
usually attributed to the sixteenth century humanist Erasmus
of Rotterdam when he translated Hesiod's tale of Pandora
into Latin. Hesiod's pithos refers to a large storage jar, often
half-buried in the ground, used for wine, oil or grain. It can
also refer to a funerary jar.The phrase "Pandora's box" has
endured ever since.
Pithos into "box"
A pithos from Crete, ca.
675 BC (Louvre Museum)
Agios Nikolaos, Crete, : modern copy of
Minoan Period pithos (storage jar) from
Ancient Elounda, 1500 BC.
