Pandora

The myth of Pandora's box

Two brothers named Epimetheus and Prometheus lived in Ancient Greece. They had upset the gods by giving the gift of fire to humans and now the gods wanted to punish them

The gods created a beautiful woman called Pandora and took her to Prometheus, but he refused to accept her because he knew the gods wanted to take their revenge on him. His brother Epimetheus thought Pandora was so beautiful that she could never cause any harm, so he agreed to marry her.

The couple lived very happily together, until one day the god Mercury arrived, carrying a magnificent box. Mercury wouldn't tell them what the box contained but only that it had to remain sealed forever. He asked the couple if he could leave the box with them until he returned from his journey, and they agreed.

Pandora was very curious about the contents of the box but she had promised Mercury she would never open it. Pandora could not stop gazing at the box. All she could think about was its contents. She began to imagine that it contained beautiful gowns or exquisite jewelry, or even money!

When Pandora knew Epimetheus was out of sight, she would untie the heavy gold cords that kept the box securely fastened, and run her fingers over the carved woodwork. She longed to give in to temptation and open the box, but she always re-tied the cords and returned the box to its shelf.

However, one day Pandora's curiosity got the better of her and she grabbed the box and pulled at the gold cord and knots. But to her surprise when she lifted the heavy lid there was no gleam of gold or treasure, and not one beautiful dress!

Instead the gods had packed the box full of all the terrible evils they could think of. Out of the box poured disease, misery and death, all shaped like tiny buzzing moths. The creatures stung Pandora over and over again and she slammed the lid shut. Epimetheus ran into the room to see why she was crying in pain.

Pandora could still hear a voice calling to her from the box, pleading with her to be let out. Epimetheus agreed that nothing inside the box could be worse than the horrors that had already been released, so they opened the lid once more.

All that remained in the box was Hope. It fluttered from the box like a beautiful dragonfly, touching the wounds created by the evil creatures, and healing them. Even though Pandora had released pain and suffering upon the world, she had also allowed Hope to follow them.