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Pandora

Presented by:
Maqsood Hasni
Free Abuzar Barqi kutabkhana
Augt. 2017
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Pandora

Pandora (1861) by Pierre Loison (18161886)

In Greek mythology, Pandora (Greek: ,
derived fro , p , i.e. "all" a d ,
dron, i.e. "gift", thus "the all-endowed", "the
all-gifted" or "the all-giving") was the first
human woman created by the gods,
specifically by Hephaestus and Athena on the
instructions of Zeus. As Hesiod related it, each
god helped create her by giving her unique
gifts. Zeus ordered Hephaestus to mold her
out of earth as part of the punishment of
humanity for Prometheus' theft of the secret
of fire, and all the gods joined in offering her
"seductive gifts". Her other nameinscribed
against her figure on a white-ground kylix in
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the British Museumis Anesidora, "she who

sends up gifts" (up implying "from below"
within the earth).
According to the myth, Pandora opened a jar
(pithos), in modern accounts sometimes
mistranslated as "Pandora's box" (see below),
releasing all the evils of humanityalthough
the particular evils, aside from plagues and
diseases, are not specified in detail by
Hesiodleaving only Hope inside once she
had closed it again
The Pandora myth is a kind of theodicy,
addressing the question of why there is evil in
the world.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pandora
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Pandora's Box - origins

What type of myth is this?

Zeus
Zeus wishes to punish mankind
Pandora s box is an origin myth the attempt
to explain the beginning of something.
People have always wanted to know why
things happen in the world the way they do.
Before there was much science, they did not
have much understanding of how the world
works, but they still wanted to know, just as
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much as we do. Human curiosity always asks

why .. and then human creativity finds ways of
giving an answer.
There are many myths, across all cultures,
which attempt to explain the beginnings of
human beings and why there are evil things
like disease, hate and war in the world. In
many stories, these evils are released because
humans disobey gods.
You may like to compare the story of Pandora
with the story of Adam and Eve. Do you know
any other similar stories from other cultures?
Are there other versions of the story?
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Pandora
Pandora Creation
The story of Pandora and her box comes from
Ancient Greece and is very old. Because of
this, there are several versions of the myth.
In Greek mythology, Pandora (meaning
all-giving ) was the first woman on earth.
Before humans there were the immortals (the
Gods and Titans). The brothers, Prometheus
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and Epimetheus were Titans (Giant people)

who had fought on the Gods side in a war.
Some say they were cousins of Zeus, king of
the gods; he asked Prometheus to create man
out of clay and water (in many versions
Hephaestus helps in this). Epimetheus had to
create the animals and give them their gifts of
courage, swiftness etc. He gave out all the gifts
and had none left for Man. So Prometheus
decides to make man stand upright, like the
gods, and give them fire (which Zeus did not
want them to have some say he had
removed it as a punishment). So Prometheus
stole fire some say from Zeus lightning,
others from the sun and yet others from
Hephaestus forge.
Most agree that Zeus asked Hephaestus to
make Pandora (the first woman) also out of
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earth and water, and he intended her to be a

punishment. Each god and goddess gave
Pandora a gift (talent), of beauty, charm,
music etc but also others, like curiosity and
persuasion gifts that could be used for good
or ill.
Then Pandora was given a container in the
original Greek stories it was a jar and did not
become a box until the Sixteenth century AD.
A scholar called Erasmus, who lived in
Rotterdam in Holland, translated a story of
Pandora from Hesiod s work. Hesiod was a
Greek poet who lived about 700BC. Erasmus
was translating the Greek into Latin (which
scholars did all their writing in, in those days)
and translated the Greek word pithos
meaning jar into the Latin word pyxis
meaning box. And a box it has stayed to this
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day!
How did the myth arise?

Pandora's Jar
Originally a Jar?
It arose as a way of explaining why dreadful
things happened, such as people getting sick
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and dying.
As in many origin myths, man had lived in a
world without worry until this jar / box was
opened, which contained ills for mankind.
Zeus knew that Pandora s curiosity would
mean that she could not stop herself from
opening it, especially when he had told her
that she must not do so!
Many other myths also explain the ills of the
world by saying they are caused by human
disobedience of a god s instructions.
(Though some versions of this story say that
the box was a real gift and the box held good
things for mankind, which Pandora let escape
from the box, and fly away forever, only
catching Hope.)
Even Hope itself has been argued about by
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scholars not everyone agreeing that it is a

great good that maybe Zeus meant it as an
evil also otherwise it would not have been in
a jar of evil. Others believe that Zeus may have
relented a little, and put Hope in to help
mankind through the hard times that the
other gifts would bring.
What does it mean to us today?
Pandora's Box

Today, Pandora s box means a source of

troubles. When we talk about opening
Pandora s box, we use it as a metaphor to
mean that we may not know what we are
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getting ourselves into! Sometimes, that we do

not always know how something we have
started may end, that we do not know the
consequences of our actions.
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Pandora
Definition
By Mark Cartwright
Published on 27 July 2015 Pandora
(Lawrence Alma-Tadema)
Pandora is a figure from Greek mythology who
was not only the first woman, but --as an
instrument of the wrath of Zeus-- was held
responsible for releasing the ills of humanity
into the world. Pandora was also an unrelated
earth goddess in the early Greek pantheon.
PANDORA - AN INSTRUMENT OF PUNISHMENT
The name Pandora means "gifts" and "all".
According to (and perhaps even invented by)
Hesiod in his Theogony and Works & Days,
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Zeus had Hephaistos make Pandora, the first

woman, from earth and water. Zeus intention
was to use the beautiful and lovely Pandora as
a means to punish Prometheus who had
stolen fire from the gods and given it to
mankind, who would in turn be punished.
Zeus promises:
Son of Iapetus [Prometheus], you who know
counsels beyond all others, you are pleased
that you have stolen fire and beguiled my
mind a great grief for you yourself, and for
men to come. To them I shall give in exchange
for fire an evil in which they may all take
pleasure in their spirit, embracing their own
evil. (Works & Days, 54-59)
PANDORA S DIVINE GIFTS
Before her departure, Pandora was given a
range of divine gifts by each of the Olympian
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gods. Athena taught her all the fine crafts and

dressed her in silvery robes, Aphrodite gave
her grace and the means to create burning
desire, and Hermes gave her "a dog s mind
and a thievish character" and in her breast
"set lies and guileful words" (Works & Days,
67-68, 77-78). If that was not enough, she was
adorned with fine jewellery by the Graces,
crowned with a magnificent golden headband
made by Hephaistos, and given garlands of
spring flowers by the Seasons. Finally, Pandora
was given a large storage jar to take down to
earth which she was told she must never open
under any circumstances.
FULFILLING HER DESTINY, CURIOSITY GOT THE
BETTER OF PANDORA AND SHE LIFTED THE LID
OF THE STORAGE JAR WHICH RELEASED ALL
THE EVILS OF THE WORLD.
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PANDORA'S BOX: THE EVILS OF THE WORLD

Pandora, guided by Hermes, was sent to
Epimetheus, the brother of Prometheus.
Foolishly forgetting his brother s advice never
to accept a gift from the gods, the beautiful
Pandora was made welcome in Epimetheus
home and the two married, having a daughter,
Pyrrha. One day, and fulfilling her destiny,
curiosity got the better of Pandora and she
lifted the lid of the storage jar which released
all the evils of the world. These terrible things
included disease, war, vice, toil, and the
necessity to work for sustenance.
Pandora, realizing her mistake, quickly
replaced the lid but it was too late and only
one thing remained inside, caught in the edge
of the jar s lip --Hope-- so that humanity might
somehow bear its sudden and eternal
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misfortune.
"Hope" is the traditional translation from the
Greek but actually may be better represented
by "anticipation" which includes an
expectation of both good and bad events.
Through this punishment Zeus thus
compensated for the theft of fire and restored
the eternal division between gods and
humans.
PANDORA IN ART
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A relief frieze showing the birth of Pandora

appeared on the statue base of the gigantic
Athena Parthenos by Pheidias which stood
inside the Parthenon. According to Pliny the
scene included 20 gods looking on. Pandora
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appears too on a few Attic vases in scenes

probably inspired by the now lost satyr play
Pandora by Sophocles.
In one 5th century BCE red-figure krater, now
in the Ashmolean Museum Oxford, Pandora
emerges from the ground, symbolizing her
origin from clay. In such scenes either
Epimetheus or satyrs hold mallets but the
significance of these has, unfortunately, been
lost and they once more illustrate the richness
of Greek mythology beyond the surviving
literary sources.
http://www.ancient.eu/Pandora/
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