Pandora

In my previous blog posting I discussed Prometheus and Zeus’ relationship and how it affected the development of mankind. At one point in brackets I said how I would discuss Pandora and her involvement in the Prometheus myth, which is exactly what this blog entry is for. The picture I have used in this posting shows Pandora opening the box containing all the evils of the world and about to release them to plague mankind. This represents the beginning of mankind’s troubles in return for Prometheus giving fire to them in an attempt to make their lives easier. When Prometheus stole fire back for mankind, Zeus sent Pandora and her ‘jar of evils’ in exchange, and now the world is a much harder place for mortals [Dougherty (2006):38].

                           ‘Because before that the human race

                           Had lived off the land without any trouble, no hard work,

                           No sickness or pain that the Fates give to men

                           (And when men are in misery, they show their age quickly).

                           But the woman took the lid off the big jar with her hands

                           And scattered all the miseries that spell sorrow for men.’ [Hes. WD. 90-5]

This passage from Hesiod’s Works and Days represents the difference between mortals and gods. Now, mortals had to work for their livelihood, particularly in the institution of agriculture, in order to live. Zeus not only introduces illness, fear and sorrow to mankind, but also hard manual labour. This distinction between mortals and gods is that mortals must work for their livelihood but the gods do not.

Just like at Mekone, when Prometheus disguised the lesser portions of the Ox, Pandora was beautiful on the outside, yet she has a deceptive interior. Dougherty explains that she is created ‘in exchange for fire’, and like it she is ‘always hungry’ [39]. Unlike in the Christian creation story of Adam and Eve, Pandora is created as a punishment for man rather than as a companion [40]. This means that Pandora was similarly a trickster like Prometheus. Zeus offered her as a gift to Prometheus’ slow-witted brother, Epimetheus, whom Pandora essentially tricks by opening her jar of troubles and sickness. However the jar also contains Hope, and with this introduced into Prometheus’ myth emphasizes a characteristic of the human condition: man’s imperfect knowledge of the future [43]. This is another distinction between gods and mortals, the gods have and know everything and mortal men do not; humans only have hope and expectations to guide their choices about the future.

Ultimately from what I have discovered in this blog post and my previous one, Prometheus’ actions in attempting to trick Zeus on behalf of mankind factor in to their separation from the gods and their subsequent difficulties as a result of this. Hesiod seems to read the myth as a fall from the Golden Age, since the actions of his Prometheus, the conception of sacrifice and the subsequent theft of fire, indicates the moment when humans first parted with the gods, and life has been a struggle ever since. This view on the Prometheus myth gives me the impression that he was trying to use the human race as a scape goat for his actions in order to get revenge on Zeus for punishing his brothers.

Works cited:

Dougherty, C. (2006), Prometheus, ‘Gods and Heroes of the Ancient World’, Routledge

Hesiod’s Works and Days

Pictures:

Pandora