|
In Greek mythology, Pandora was
the first woman on earth. Zeus ordered Hephaestus, the
god of craftsmanship, to create her and he did, using
water and earth. The gods endowed her many with talents;
Aphrodite gave her beauty, Apollo music, Hermes
persuasion, and so forth. Hence her name: Pandora, "all-gifted".
When Prometheus stole fire from heaven, Zeus took
vengeance by presenting Pandora to Epimetheus, Prometheus'
brother. With her, Pandora had a jar which she was not to
open under any circumstance. Impelled by her natural
curiosity, Pandora opened the jar, and all evil contained
escaped and spread over the earth. She hastened to close
the lid, but the whole contents of the jar had escaped,
except for one thing which lay at the bottom, and that
was Hope. |
|