Pandora's box is an artifact in Greek mythology, taken from the myth of Pandora's creation around line 60 of Hesiod's Works and Days. The "box" was actually a large jar (πιθος pithos) given to Pandora (Πανδώρα) ("all-gifted"), which contained all the evils of the world. When Pandora opened the jar, all its contents except for one item were released into the world. The one remaining item was Hope, but then later it was released. Today, opening Pandora's box means to create evil that cannot be undone.
In Mythology
In classic Greek mythology, Pandora was the first woman on earth. Zeus ordered Hephaestus, the god of craftsmanship, to create her, so he did—using water and earth. The gods endowed her with many talents: Aphrodite gave her beauty, Apollo gave music and Hermes, persuasion. The gods also gave her the gift of curiosity. Her name Pandora means "all-giving."
When Prometheus stole fire from heave
n, Zeus took vengeance by presenting Pandora to Epimetheus, Prometheus' brother, to tie the knot between them. With her, Pandora was given a beautiful box which she was not to open under any circumstance. Impelled by her curiosity given to her by the gods, Pandora stole the key from her husband while he was sleeping and opened the box-jar. Out flew every kind of disease and sickness, hate and envy, and all the bad things that people had never experienced before. Pandora slammed the lid closed, but it was too late. All the bad things were already out of the box. They flew away, out into the world.
Epimetheus woke up at the sound of Pandora's sobbing. “I opened the box and all these ugly things flew out,” she cried. “I tried to catch them, but they all got out.” Pandora opened the box to show him how empty it was. But the box was not quite empty. One tiny bug, named Hope, flew quickly out before Pandora could slam the lid shut again. With a nod of thanks from the bug for being set free, Hope flew out into the world, a world that now held Envy, Crime, Hate, Disease and Hope. After the incident, Pandora was very afraid to face Zeus' wrath. But in the end, Zeus did not punish Pandora because he already knew the consequences from giving Pandora the box.
Ethymology of the "Box"
The original Greek word used was pithos, which is a large jar, sometimes as large as a small human (Diogenes of Sinope was said to have once slept in one). It was used for storage of wine, oil, grain or other provisions, or, ritually, as a container for a human body for burying. In the case of Pandora, this jar may have been made of clay for use as storage as in the usual sense, or of bronze metal as an unbreakable prison.
In Mythology
In classic Greek mythology, Pandora was the first woman on earth. Zeus ordered Hephaestus, the god of craftsmanship, to create her, so he did—using water and earth. The gods endowed her with many talents: Aphrodite gave her beauty, Apollo gave music and Hermes, persuasion. The gods also gave her the gift of curiosity. Her name Pandora means "all-giving."
When Prometheus stole fire from heave
n, Zeus took vengeance by presenting Pandora to Epimetheus, Prometheus' brother, to tie the knot between them. With her, Pandora was given a beautiful box which she was not to open under any circumstance. Impelled by her curiosity given to her by the gods, Pandora stole the key from her husband while he was sleeping and opened the box-jar. Out flew every kind of disease and sickness, hate and envy, and all the bad things that people had never experienced before. Pandora slammed the lid closed, but it was too late. All the bad things were already out of the box. They flew away, out into the world.Epimetheus woke up at the sound of Pandora's sobbing. “I opened the box and all these ugly things flew out,” she cried. “I tried to catch them, but they all got out.” Pandora opened the box to show him how empty it was. But the box was not quite empty. One tiny bug, named Hope, flew quickly out before Pandora could slam the lid shut again. With a nod of thanks from the bug for being set free, Hope flew out into the world, a world that now held Envy, Crime, Hate, Disease and Hope. After the incident, Pandora was very afraid to face Zeus' wrath. But in the end, Zeus did not punish Pandora because he already knew the consequences from giving Pandora the box.
Ethymology of the "Box"
The original Greek word used was pithos, which is a large jar, sometimes as large as a small human (Diogenes of Sinope was said to have once slept in one). It was used for storage of wine, oil, grain or other provisions, or, ritually, as a container for a human body for burying. In the case of Pandora, this jar may have been made of clay for use as storage as in the usual sense, or of bronze metal as an unbreakable prison.
The mistranslation of pithos is usually attributed to the 16th century humanist Erasmus of Rotterdam who translated Hesiod's tale of Pandora into Latin. Erasmus rendered pithos as the Greek pyxis, meaning "box". The phrase "Pandora's box" has endured ever since. This misconception was further reinforced by Dante Gabriel Rossetti's painting Pandora.
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