The Story of Pandora
The
story is that Jupiter made Woman. He sent her to Prometheus and his brother
Epimetheus. He wanted to punish them for stealing fire from heaven and Man for
accepting the gift. The first woman was named Pandora. She was made in heaven.
Every god contributed something to make her perfect. Venus gave her beauty,
Mercury persuasion, Apollo music, etc. With these gifts, she was brought to
earth and given to Epimetheus. He gladly accepted her, even though he was
warned by his brother to be careful of Jupiter and his gifts.
Epimetheus
had a jar in his house. He kept harmful traits that he had not used to prepare
Man for his new home in it. Pandora was struck with a great curiosity to know
what this jar contained. One day she slipped off the cover and looked in. A
great number of plagues for poor Man – such as gout, rheumatism, and colic for
his body, and envy, spite, and revenge for his mind – escaped from it and
scattered far and wide. Pandora hurried to replace the lid but all the contents
of the jar had escaped except one thing. Hope was left at the bottom of the
jar. Still we see this day that whatever evil things happen, there is always
hope. And while we have that, no amount of other ills can make us completely
miserable.
Another
story is that Pandora was sent by Jupiter to bless Man. She was given a box
containing her marriage presents. Every god had put some blessing into it. She
opened the box carelessly, and the blessings all escaped excepting only hope.
This story seems more probable than the other. For how could hope (which is
such a precious jewel) have been kept in a jar full of all manner of evils?
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