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. He also
wanted to punish 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. Then she was
brought to earth and given to Epimetheus. He accepted her gladly. However,
Prometheus warned him to be careful about Jupiter’s gift.
Epimetheus
had a jar in his house. He kept harmful traits in it. He had not used them to
prepare Man for his new home. 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 escaped from it and scattered far and
wide. There were gout, rheumatism, and colic to attack his body. And there were
envy, spite, and revenge to attack his mind.
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 except for hope. This
story seems more probable than the other. Hope is such a precious jewel. How
could it have been kept in a jar with evil things?
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