Note of the author: The following article was published in Spanish language on my Blurt blog, in February 14th, 2021.
In the last mythological note, we broadly explained the myth of the titan Iapetus' son, Promeheus, who as engaged in a game of cunning with Zeus. It was exposed how a couple of incidents (the sacrifice at Mecone and the theft of the fire) led Zeus to punish both Prometheus and his creation, mankind, in a petty way; the first would suffer the torture of seeing his entrails devoured by an eagle every day, and the second would receive all the ills known and to come thanks to a lady sent to do such a job: Pandora.
The first woman
Hesiod, in his Theogony, briefly describe us how Pandora was created:
Forthwith he made an evil thing for men as the price of fire; for the very famous Limping God formed of earth the likeness of a shy maiden as the son of Cronos willed. And the goddess bright-eyed Athene girded and clothed her with silvery raiment, and down from her head she spread with her hands a broidered veil, a wonder to see; and she, Pallas Athene, put about her head lovely garlands, flowers of new-grown herbs. Also she put upon her head a crown of gold which the very famous Limping God made himself and worked with his own hands as a favour to Zeus his father (Theogony, Hesiod, verses 561 - 584).
After introducing her to the gods, each one was convinced by Zeus to give her a present or gift, especially lies and perfidy by Hermes (Chávez Ferrusca, 2006: 47). With those gifts, the Chronid intended to give a second low blow to mankind, and what better way to achieve it than giving her to Epimetheus, Prometheus' brother. Epimetheus had previously been warned by Prometheus about the cruelty that Zeus could use to harm humanity, and he urged him to not accept any gifts from the Olympians. Unfortunately, Epimetheus accepted the gift, as he had fallen in love with Pandora; the consequences of accepting her are illustrated by Hesiod in the book Works and Days:
For ere this the tribes of men lived on earth remote and free from ills and hard toil and heavy sickness which bring the Fates upon men; for in misery men grow old quickly. But the woman took off the great lid of the jar [1303] with her hands and scattered all these and her thought caused sorrow and mischief to men. Only Hope remained there in an unbreakable home within under the rim of the great jar, and did not fly out at the door; for ere that, the lid of the jar stopped her, by the will of Aegis-holding Zeus who gathers the clouds. (Works and days, Hesiod. Verses 90 - 105)
Pandora, the pre-Christian Eve
An interesting detail of this myth is the treatment that was given to Pandora's figure through centuries. Jesús López Zamora (2014) explains that among ancient authors it had some relevance in terms of key representation of the emergence of the first human beings; however, this relevance was overshadowed for some time (probably from the Middle Ages to the middle or late seventeenth century) by the Christian Eve.
Montserrat Escartín Gual (2007) points out that Pandora's figure Montserrat Escartín Gual (2007) points out that the figure of Pandora, more than eclipsed, had been used repeatedly by the Fathers of the Church in order to corroborate the doctrine of the original sin and reinforce the misogyny that was already practiced in daily life. In fact, it could be said that Pandora is the pre-Christian Eve, as their creation is different from that of man and they are the ones that have brought all kinds of evils into the world, although the function of each one was slightly different: while Pandora was the trap of Zeus, Eve was the companion of Adam.
Now, why was hope was among those evils? Did the Greeks see hope as the least of evils? Or can hope be bad in different contexts? This part neither Hesiod nor later authors explained with certainty. Perhaps Zeus, knowing everything, thought that humanity would have at least a little comfort in the midst of its misadventures; or perhaps another divinity, feeling compassion and disagreeing with Zeus, infiltrated that small light into that container.
What we are sure of is that this tragic love story between Pandora and Epimetheus was only the beginning of a Bronze Age, where everything begins to fall under its own weight.
Consulted sources (some with English versions)
- Chávez Ferrusca, José Salvador. 2006. Mitos y leyendas del mundo. México. Editorial Trillas.
- Escartín Gual, Montserrat. 2007. "Pandora y Eva: La misoginia judeocristiana y griega en la literatura medieval catalana y española", en: Revista de Lenguas y Literatura Catalana, Gallega y Vasca, núm. 13, 2007 - 2008. Pp. 55 - 71.
- Hesíodo. Teogonía. España. Luarna Editorial. Consultado en: Biblioteca electrónica del Municipio de Ataun, País Vasco. English version: Sacred Texts.
- Hesiodo. Trabajos y días. Consultado en: Biblioteca de Clásicos Grecolatinos, el 14 de febrero de 2021. English version: Elpenor Print.
- López Zamora, Jesús. 2014. "Pandora: De Hesíodo a Calderón. Autores y textos en la tradición del mito", en: Cuadernos de Filología Clásica. Estudios griegos e indoeuropeos, núm. 24. Pp. 225 - 244. Rescatado de: Cuadernos de Filología Clásica. Estudios griegos e indoeuropeos.
Last Mythological Notes
- Greco-roman mythology: A brief introduction.
- Greek and Roman Mythology: Their differences.
- Creation, according to greco-roman mythology.
- Gaia and Uranus, the primordial divinities.
- The Titans, the predecessors of the gods.
- Titanomachy: Titans vs. Olympians.