my assignment

1. PANDORA wasthe very first womanwho was formed out of clay by the gods. The
Titan Prometheus had originallybeenassigned with the taskof creating man. But
becausehe was displeased with their lot, stole fire from heaven. Zeus was angered, and
commanded Hephaistos and theother gods to createa woman, Pandora, and endow
her with the beautyand cunning. He then delivered her to Epimetheus, thefoolish
younger brother of Prometheus, for a bride. Whenhe had received her into his house,
Pandora opened the pithos (storagejar) which Zeus had given her as a wedding
present, and released the swarm of evil spiritstrappedwithin. Theywould ever
afterwardsplague mankind. Only Elpis (Hope) remained behind, a single blessing to
succor mankind in their suffering.
Pandora'sdaughter Pyrrha(Fire) wasthe first-bornmortalchild. She and her husband
Deukalion alone survived the Great Deluge. To repopulatethe earth they each cast
stones over their shoulder. Those cast by Deukalion formed men, and those of Pyrrha
women.
In ancient Greekvase painting Pandora wasdepictedinthe scene of her creationas
either a statue-likefiguresurrounded bygods, or as a womanrising out of the earth
(the anodos). Sometimessheis surrounded by dancing Satyroi, ina scene from a lost
Satyr-playof Sophocles.
The myth of Pandora’s box
The myth of Pandora’s box is considered one of the most descriptive myths of human behavior in
Greek mythology. 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.
Pandora, the first woman on Earth
Pandora was, according to the myth, the first woman on Earth. 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”.

2. Pandora was created as a punishment to the mankind; Zeus wanted to punish people because
Prometheus stole the fire to give it to them. Her gifts were beautifully evil, according to Hesiod.
Hephaestus created her from clay, shaping her perfectly, Aphrodite gave her femininity and Athena
taught her crafts. Hermes was ordered by Zeus to teach her to be deceitful, stubborn and curious.
Pandora was given a box or a jar, called “pithos” in Greek. Gods told her that the box contained
special gifts from them but she was not allowed to open the box ever. Then Hermes took her to
Epimetheus, brother of Prometheus, to be his wife. 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.
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. 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.
According 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 the right person to
do it, because she was curious enough, but not malicious.
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. The myth itself though appears in many different versions; the most distinctive difference is
that in some myths Hope does come out. The main purpose of the myth of Pandora though is to
address the question of why evil exists in the world.
The birth of Pandora was represented on the pedestal of the statue of Athena situated at the
Parthenon on the Acropolis in Athens.

3. Pygmalion is a legendary figure of Cyprus. Though Pygmalion is the Greek version of
the Phoenician royal name Pumayyaton, he is most familiar from Ovid's narrative
poem Metamorphoses, in which Pygmalion was a sculptor who fell in love with a statue he had
carved.
Galatea is a name popularly applied to the statue carved of ivory by Pygmalionof Cyprus, which then
came to life, in Greek mythology; in modern English the name usually alludes to that story. Galatea is
also the name of Polyphemus's object of desire in Theocritus's Idylls VI and XI and is linked with
Polyphemus again in the myth of Acis and Galatea in Ovid's Metamorphoses.

4. Pygmalion and Galatea
Pygmalion’smind oscillated betweendoubt and joy. Fearing he may be mistaken, again
and againwith a lover’s ardor he touchesthe object of his hopes.
It was indeed alive! The veins when pressed yielded to the finger and againresumed
their roundness.
Slowly it dawned on Pygmalionthat theanimationofhis sculpturewasthe result of his
prayer to Goddess Aphroditewhoknew his desire. At last, the votaryof Aphrodite
found words to thankthe goddess. Pygmalionhumbled himselfat the Goddess’ feet.
Soon Pygmalion and Galatea were wed, and Pygmalionnever forgot to thank
Aphroditefor the gift she had given him.
Aphroditeblessed the nuptialsshe had formed, and thisunion betweenPygmalionand
Galatea produced a son named Paphos, from whom the cityof Paphosin Cyprus (this
citywas sacred to Aphrodite), received itsname.
Pygmalion and Galatea brought giftstoher temple throughout their lifeand Aphrodite
blessed them with happinessand love in return.
The unusual love that blossomed between Pygmalionand Galatea enthrallsall. Falling
in love with one’s creationand then getting thedesired object aswife- perhapsthiswas
destined for Pygmalion.
Even to thisday, countless people and young lovers are mesmerized bythis exceptional
love that existed betweentwo persons at a timewhen civilizationwasin itsinfancy.

5. Cupid and Psyche is a story from the Latinnovel Metamorphoses, alsoknown as The
Golden Ass, writtenin the 2nd centuryAD by Apuleius. It concernsthe overcoming of
obstaclesto the love betweenPsyche and Cupid or Amor, and their ultimateunionin
a sacred marriage. Although theonly extended narrativefrom antiquityisthat of
Apuleius, Eros and Psyche appear in Greek art as early as the 4th centuryBC. The
story's Neo-platonic elementsand allusions to mysteryreligions accommodatemultiple
interpretations, and it hasbeen analyzed as an allegory and in light of
folktale, Märchen or fairytale, and myth.
Sincethe rediscoveryof Apuleius'snovel in the Renaissance, thereception of Cupid
and Psyche in the classicaltradition hasbeen extensive. The story has been retold in
poetry, drama, and opera, and depicted widely in painting, sculpture, and even
wallpaper. Psyche'sRoman namethrough direct translationisAnima.
The fantastically beautiful Psyche is the Greco-Roman goddess of the soul. She is often shown as
having butterfly wings, which makes a lot of sense, since her name not only means "soul" in Greek,
but also "butterfly." We're guessing her butterfly wings were probably totally necessary tokeep up
with her famous winged husband, Cupid (a.k.a. Eros), god of love and desire. Together, this high-
flying couple were said to have parented a daughter named Voluptas (Hedone), the goddess of
pleasure.
Usually, when Cupid, god of love and desire, pops up in a story, he wreaks havoc by making other
people fall in love. The mischievous little god is famous for causing tons of trouble with his magic
passion-inducing arrows. In the tale of "Cupid and Psyche," however, we see the tables turned. It's
Cupid's life that is turned upside down when his own arrow stings him, causing him to fall in love with
the stunningly beautiful mortal girl, Psyche. He's even so smitten with Psyche that he goes against the
wishes of his mommy dearest (Venus), which is pretty much unheard of in most other stories. In the
end, it all works out, though, and Psyche becomes Cupid's wife for all eternity.

6. Hephaestus was the Greekgod of blacksmiths, sculptors, metallurgy, fireand
volcanoes; thus, he is symbolized with a hammer, ananvil and a pair of tongs.
According toHomer'sepics, the Iliad and the Odyssey, he was the son
of Zeus and Hera. However, Hesiod informs us that Hera bore Hephaestus alone.
According toanaccount, after Hephaestus was born, Hera threw him from Olympus
becausehe was crippled; he fell intothe ocean and wasraised by Thetis and Eurynome.
Another myth hasit that he once tried to protect hismother from Zeus' advancesand
as a result, the father of the Gods flung him down from Olympus, which caused his
physicaldisability; hefell on the island of Lemnos where he becamea master
craftsman. Hewas later accepted backtoOlympus, and becamethecraftsmanofthe
gods, creating majesticarmors, shieldsand weapons.
He was married to Aphrodite; after helearned his wife had an affair with her
brother, Ares, he devised a plan with which he humiliated both lovers to the other gods.

7. Prometheus wasone of the Titans, son ofIapetus (also a Titan) and Clymene, an
Oceanid. His brotherswere Epimetheus,Atlasand Menoetius. Thename derivesfrom
the Greek word meaning 'forethought'.
During the Titanomachy, thewar betweenthe Titans and the Olympian
gods, Prometheus sided with Zeus, helping to overthrow the old gods. Siding with the
winning side,Prometheus avoided being punished with therest of the Titansand was
thereforenot sent to Tartarus, theUnderworld.
In all accounts, Prometheus waspresented to be the protector and benefactor of
mankind. In an event called Trickat Mecone, he tricked Zeus by asking him to choose
betweentwo offerings; beef hiddeninsidean ox's stomach (something pleasing hidden
insidea repelling exterior) or bones wrapped in glistening fat (something inedible
hiddeninside a pleasing exterior). Zeus chose thelatter and hence, a precedent was
created inwhat humanscould sacrificefrom that moment; so, they kept the meat for
themselves and sacrificed bonestothe gods.
As a result of the trickat Mecone, Zeus was infuriated and decided tohide fire
from mortals as punishment.Prometheus, inan effort to help humanityagain, managed
to steal fire backand give it to humans. More enraged, the father of gods
asked Hephaestus to create Pandora, thefirst woman, who according toHesiod, would
bring troublesto mankind. He also punished Prometheus byhaving him chained toa
rock, where an eagle ate his liver during theday, and the liver was regenerated during
the night due to Prometheus' immortality. He waslater saved by the demigod Hercules.