At first glance, beware, "your actions may end up opening Pandora's Box" with this reference, nowadays, people try to warn that certain acts we may perform may lead to unthinkable and negative consequences. This is how the Pandora's myth This myth has persisted since the ancient Greeks until our times.

Summary in Greek Mythology

To understand this classic of Greek mythology, we must go back to the time when Zeus, God of Olympus, together with other gods, defeated the titans, becoming the gods, responsible for the destinies of heaven and earth.

Since then, Greek mythology tells that Prometheus, who had been a titan but agreed with the triumph of the gods, constantly confronted Zeus. However, Prometheus was cunning and always annoyed the father of all gods.

At that time, Prometheus was considered the father and protector of mankind and had revealed the secret of fire to humans. However, this caused Zeus to increase his hatred for Prometheus and as punishment deprived humans of fire.

Prometheus stole fire from Zeus

In return, determined to fix this, Prometheus once again stole the fire from Zeus and gave it back to humans. Faced with such an affront, Zeus decided to take revenge on Prometheus and knew he would achieve it by punishing humans.

However, then the God of Olympus decided to send Pandora to earth equipped with a box according to the old stories, it would be an amphora and not exactly a box.

Zeus' revenge against Prometheus

To perpetrate his revenge against Prometheus, Zeus ordered Hephaestus, god of fire and famous for his skills, to build a statue of a beautiful maiden.

On her part, Hermes, the messenger of the gods, gave his speech and finally Aphrodite would endow her with the charm of love.

Thus, Zeus gave Pandora a box whose contents the maiden did not know, and then Zeus sent her to the mortals. Consequently, Pandora went to the house of Epimetheus, Prometheus' brother.

Pandora opens the box

Anyway, Epimetheus a young and naive brother of Prometheus fell madly in love with Pandora and she offered him her box as a gift, but Epimetheus accepted it willingly, even though Prometheus warned him never to accept a gift from Olympus.

In other words, neither Pandora nor Epimetheus resisted the temptation to know the contents of Pandora's box and opened it. Since then, it was there that countless evils spread over the earth: pain, old age, evil, suffering, sorrow and disease, all the evils that mortals until that moment were unaware of.

Soon, in terror, Pandora closed the lid of the box and only hope was trapped at the bottom of the box. From that moment on, Pandora devotes herself to comforting mortals, afflicted by so many evils, assuring them that she has managed to contain and retain hope, and that it would be the last to be lost.

Why does the myth of Pandora's box persist?

Since ancient times, different beliefs have tried, through myths and legends, to explain everything that seemed incomprehensible to human knowledge.

However, it was necessary to make understandable those events that showed situations of pain, illness, and other ills suffered by the creatures that had been the object of the gods' creation.

So how could the gods, endowed with perfection, create things that acted so imperfectly? Therefore, those charged with answering questions like these find in myths and legends the way to do so in an understandable way.

what is the message of the pandora's box myth

Today the message of the myth Pandora's box tries to reflect how the excessive curiosity, which overpowered Pandora and Epimetheus, brought tragic consequences to mankind.

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At the same time, however, in that period it was necessary to convey the possibility of overcoming adversity. That is why the myth leaves hope intact, so that men can cling to it in the face of a life that was not theirs.

Moreover, to this day the saying that "hope is the last thing to die" persists among us, so this message refers to the myth that we are commenting on at the moment.

Summary

According to the story, there would come a time when mortals and immortals would separate, through a mistake.

In return, Prometheus arranged that when men separated and made sacrifices to the gods, men would keep the bones, immortals the flesh and the organs of these for their pleasure. However, Zeus upon learning of this event, as punishment took the fire away from men, but again Prometheus managed to return it to him.

When Zeus heard about this audacity, he was very angry, so he ordered Hephaestus to create the figure of a beautiful princess in clay, as beautiful as an immortal, and ordered him to bring her to life.

Emergence of Pandora

Among various nymphs, they gave her beauty and sensuality, qualities to make her beautiful and evil. They gave her the power to seduce, lie and create chaos. This new being was called "Pandora", and is known as the first woman who brought evil with her.

After that, Man had to choose between: avoiding marriage and having a life where he did not lose his material goods.

As a result, without having the possibility of having a descendant to keep his property after his death, or marrying and living constantly with the evils he brought to his wife.

Final considerations about the myth of pandora

In conclusion, don't open Pandora's box! It is an unforgettable warning not to stick your nose where it doesn't belong.

Explore the derivation of the above phrase and its details that have been added in modern times, as told in the Greek myth.

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