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[[Image:Pandora.jpg|right|thumb|300px|"The Creation of "[A]NESIDORA" on a white-ground kylix by the [[Tarquinia Painter]], ca 460 BCE ([[British Museum]]]] |
[[Image:Pandora.jpg|right|thumb|300px|"The Creation of "[A]NESIDORA" on a white-ground kylix by the [[Tarquinia Painter]], ca 460 BCE ([[British Museum]]]] |
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In [[Greek mythology]], '''Pandora''' |
In [[Greek mythology]], '''Pandora''' was the first woman. [[Zeus]] ordered her creation as a punishment for mankind, in retaliation for Prometheus' having stolen fire and then giving it to humans for their use. She is most famous for having brought with her a jar (or box) containing all the world's evils. She releases these evils, but closes the jar before Hope can escape. |
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==The myth according to Hesiod: the ''Theogony''== |
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The myth of Pandora is very old, appears in several distinct versions, and has been interpreted in many ways. In all literary versions, however, the myth is a kind of [[theodicy]], addressing the question of why there is evil in the world. [[Hesiod]], both in his ''[[Theogony]]'' (briefly, without naming Pandora outright, line 570) and in ''[[Works and Days]]'', ca. 700 BC, gives the earliest literary version of the Pandora story. |
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The Pandora myth first appears in lines 560-612 of [[Hesiod]]'s (ca. 8th-7th centuries BC) [[Epic poetry|epic poem]], the ''[[Theogony]]''. After humans received the gift of fire from Prometheus, an angry Zeus decided to give men another gift to compensate for the boon they had been given. He commands [[Hephaestus]] to create the first woman, a "beautiful evil" whose descendants would torment the race of men. After Hephaestus does so, Zeus' daughter [[Athena]] dressed her in a silvery gown, a broidered veil, garlands and an ornate crown of gold. This woman goes unnamed in the ''Theogony'', but is presumably Pandora, whose myth Hesiod would revisit. When she first appears before gods and mortals, "wonder seized them" as they looked upon her. But she was "sheer guile, not to be withstood by men." Hesiod elaborates (590-93): |
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In modern times, Pandora's "Box" (see below) has become a [[metaphor]] for the unanticipated and irreversible consequences of decisions. The evidence of the Greek vase-painters reveals another, earlier aspect of Pandora. |
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<blockquote> |
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==The myth according to Hesiod== |
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From her is the race of women and female kind:<br /> |
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The [[Titan (mythology)|titan]] [[Epimetheus (mythology)|Epimetheus]] ("hindsight") was responsible for giving a positive trait to each and every animal. However, when it was time to give man a positive trait, as Prometheus, his brother, had taken much longer to create man, there was nothing left. [[Prometheus]] ("foresight"), his brother, felt that because man was superior to all other animals, man should have a gift no other animal possessed. So Prometheus set forth to steal fire from the hearth on Mount Olympus and handed it over to man. |
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of her is the deadly race and tribe of women who<br /> |
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live amongst mortal men to their great trouble,<br /> |
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no helpmeets in hateful poverty, but only in wealth. |
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</blockquote> |
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Hesiod goes on to lament that men who try to avoid the evil of women by avoiding marriage will fare no better (604-7): |
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[[Zeus]], enraged, decided to punish Prometheus by chaining him in unbreakable [[fetters]] and set an eagle over him to eat his [[liver]] each day. The [[eagle]] is Zeus's sacred creature. Prometheus was an immortal titan, so the liver grew back every day, but he was still tormented daily from the pain, until he was freed by [[Heracles]] during [[The Twelve Labors]]. Another possible reason for Prometheus' torment was because he knew which of Zeus' lovers would bear a child who would eventually overthrow Zeus. Zeus commanded that Prometheus reveal the name of the mother, but Prometheus refused, instead choosing to suffer the punishment. |
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<blockquote> |
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However, Zeus also had to punish mankind. The punishment was [[woman]] as embodied in Pandora , her name meaning 'all gifts' whose alternative name was Anesidora (''illustration, above''). In [[Hesiod]]'s telling, Pandora was given several traits from the different gods: [[Hephaestus]] moulded her out of clay and gave her form; [[Athena]] clothed her and the [[Charites]] adorned her with necklaces made by Hephaestus; [[Aphrodite]] gave her [[beauty]]; [[Apollo]] gave her musical talent and a gift for healing; [[Demeter]] taught her to tend to a garden; [[Poseidon]] gave her a pearl necklace and the ability to never drown; [[Hera]] gave her curiosity; [[Hermes]] gave her cunning, boldness, and charm. Thus the name Pandora—"all gifts"—in Hesiod's version derives from the fact that she ''received'' gifts from all deities. |
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He reaches deadly old age without anyone to tend his years,<br /> |
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and though he at least has no lack of livelihood while he lives,<br /> |
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yet, when he is dead, his kinsfolk divide his possessions amongst them.<br /> |
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</blockquote> |
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Hesiod concedes that occasionally a man finds a good wife, but still (609) "evil contends with good." |
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The most significant of these gifts, however, was a ''[[pithos]]'' or storage jar,<ref>Such a jar was often set deep in earth for storage, or it might be used for burials.</ref> given to Pandora either by Hermes or Zeus. Before he was chained to the rock, Prometheus had warned Epimetheus to be wary of any gifts given by the gods. However, when Pandora arrived, he fell in love with her and married her despite the warning he had been given. Hermes told Epimetheus that Pandora was a gift to the titan from Zeus, and he warned Epimetheus not to open the jar, which was Pandora's [[dowry]]. |
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==The myth continued: ''Works and Days''== |
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Until then, mankind lived life in a paradise without worry. Epimetheus told Pandora never to open the jar she had received from Zeus. However, Pandora's curiosity got the better of her and she opened it, releasing all the misfortunes of mankind: "For ere this the tribes of men lived on earth remote and free from ills [''kakoi''] and hard toil [''ponoi''] and heavy sickness [''nosoi argaleai''] which bring the [[Keres (mythology)|Keres]] [baleful spirits] upon men; for in misery men grow old quickly" (Hesiod, ''[[Works and Days]]''). Once opened, she shut it in time to keep one thing in the jar: anticipation of misfortune. Without the ability to tell the future, this gave society hope. Other versions say "hope" was left in the box. But if hope was left in the box, then all the evils would be in society and society would not have access to hope.<ref>C.H. Moore, p.37: the word for "hope" in Greek, Ελπις, "elpis", and its context in Hesiod's Works and Days, line 96, Moore claims is better translated as "anticipation of misfortune" rather than simply "hope". It is presumed that Moore is saying that mankind could avert some misfortunes by anticipating them with what was left on the rim of Pandora's jar. Some Greek lexicons yield some support to Moore's observation. Moore's exact words on the subject, on page 37, are: "She [Pandora] opened a jar containing every kind of evil, which straightaway flew out among mankind. Only Ελπις [elpis] remained therein — a word hardly equivalent to our Hope, but rather meaning 'anticipation of misfortune'. It is then the only plague to which man is not subjected. He is obliged to suffer, having been involved in the original sin of Prometheus, who wished to cheat Zeus of the sacrifice due him. Such is the sacred tale offered as an explanation of the presence of evils on earth". M.L. West also has an exposition and commentary on the word used, on p.169 of his Works & Days / Hesiod, edited with prolegomena and commentary. Pietro Pucci, in his Hesiod and the Language of Poetry, also addresses the full meaning of Ελπις, p.124, ff.51 and says "Ελπις properly means a larger set of expectations than our 'hope', for it implies hope, expectation, and even fear as in Homer's Iliad 13:309, 17:23, etc." Pucci goes on to write on p.104, that Hope was not always considered simply good for mankind, citing Works and Days by Hesiod, line 498 [500], "Hope [Ελπις] is a bad companion for the man in need who sits in an idle place, when he has no sufficient livelihood".</ref> The world remained extremely bleak for an unspecified interval, until Pandora chanced to revisit the box again, at which point Hope fluttered out. Thus, mankind always has hope in times of evil and misfortune. |
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The more famous version of the Pandora myth comes from another of Hesiod's poems, the ''[[Works and Days]]''. In this version of the myth (lines 60-105), Hesiod expands upon her origin, and morever widens the scope of the misery she inflicts on mankind. As before, she is created by Hephaestus, but now more gods contribute to her completion (63-82): Athena taught her needlework and weaving (63-4); [[Aphrodite]] "shed grace upon her head and cruel longing and cares that weary the limbs" (65-6); [[Hermes]] gave her "a shameful mind and deceitful nature" (67-8); Hermes also gave her the power of speech, putting in her "lies and crafty words" (77-80) ; Athena then clothed her (72); next she, Persuasion and the [[Charites]] adorned her with necklaces and other finery (72-4); the [[Horae]] adorned her with a garland crown (75). Finally, Hermes gives this woman a name: Pandora -- "All-gifted" -- "because all the Olympians gave her a gift" (81).<ref>As we often find in Greek mythology, this is a folk etymology and thus inaccurate. In Greek, Pandora's name has an active rather than a passive meaning; hence, Pandora properly means "All-giving." The implications of this mistranslation are explored in "All-giving Pandora: mythic inversion?" below.</ref> In this retelling of her story, Pandora's deceitful feminine nature becomes the least of mankinds' worries. For she brings with her a jar<ref>A ''pithos'' is a very large jar, usually made of rough-grained terra cotta, used for storage.</ref> containing<ref>''Contra'' M.L. West, ''Works and Days'', p.168. "Hesiod omits to say where the jar came from, and what Pandora had in mind when she opened it, and what exactly it contained". West goes on to say this contributes to the "inconclusive Pandora legend".</ref> "burdensome toil and sickness that brings death to men" (91-2), diseases (102) and "a myriad other pains" (100). Prometheus had (fearing further reprisals) warned his brother [[Epimetheus]] not to accept any gifts from Zeus. But Epimetheus did not listen; he accepted Pandora, who promptly scattered the contents of her jar. As a result, Hesiod tells us, "the earth and sea are full of evils" (101). One item, however, did not escape the jar (96-9): |
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In another, more philosophical version of the myth, hope ([[Elpis]]) is considered the worst of the potential evils, because it is equated with terrifying foreknowledge. By preventing hope from escaping the jar, Pandora in a sense saves the world from the worst damage. |
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<blockquote> |
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==Other Pandoras== |
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Only Hope was left within her unbreakable house,<br /> |
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The daughter of Epimetheus and Pandora was [[Pyrrha]], who married [[Deucalion]] and was one of the two who survived the [[Deluge (mythology)|deluge]]. |
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she remained under the lip of the jar, and did not<br /> |
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fly away. Before [she could], Pandora replaced the<br /> |
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lid of the jar. This was the will of aegis-bearing<br /> |
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Zeus the Cloudgatherer. |
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</blockquote> |
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Hesiod closes with this moral (105): "Thus it is not possible to escape the mind of Zeus." |
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However, the Hesiodic ''[[Catalogue of Women]]'', fragment #2, makes a "Pandora" one of the ''daughters'' of Deucalion, and the mother of [[Graecus]] by Zeus. |
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==Later embellishments== |
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"Pandora" was also named as a [[Wives aboard the Ark|daughter-in-law of Noah]] in writings attributed to the Chaldean historian of the 3rd century BC, [[Berossus]], by the 15th century monk [[Annio da Viterbo]], but this is now widely regarded as a forgery.<!--this needs to be made meaningful--> |
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Later mythographers would fill in minor details or add postscripts to Hesiod's account. For example, [[Apollodorus]] and [[Hyginus]] each make explicit what might be latent in the Hesiodic text: Epimetheus and Pandora were married. They each add that they had a daughter, [[Pyrrha]], who married [[Deucalion]], son of Prometheus. "Pandora" was named as a [[Wives aboard the Ark|daughter-in-law of Noah]] in writings attributed to the Chaldean historian of the 3rd century BC, [[Berossus]], by the 15th century monk [[Annio da Viterbo]], but this is now widely regarded as a forgery. |
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===A mythic inversion?=== |
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Classics scholars suggest that Hesiod reversed the meaning of the name of an earth goddess called ''Pandora'' ("all-giving" rather than passively "all-gifted") or ''Anesidora'' ("who sends up gifts"). T. A. Sinclair, commenting on ''Works and Days''<ref>Sinclair, editor, ''Hesiod: Works and Days'' (London: Macmillan) 1932:12.</ref> suggests that Hesiod shows no awareness of the mythology of such a divine "giver". [[Jane Ellen Harrison]] sees in Hesiod's story "evidence of a shift from matriarchy to patriarchy in Greek culture. As the life-bringing goddess Pandora is eclipsed, the death-bringing human Pandora arises."<ref>William E. Phipps, "Eve and Pandora contrasted" ''Theology Today'' '''45''' [http://theologytoday.ptsem.edu/apr1988/v45-1-article3.htm on-line text]</ref>[[Robert Graves]], quoting Harrison, <ref>Harrison, ''Prolegomena to the Study of Greek Religion'' (1903) 1922:283-85 quoted in Graves, ''The Greek Myths'' (1955) 1960, sect.39.8 p 148.</ref> asserts that "Pandora is not a genuine myth, but an anti-feminist fable, probably of his own invention;" A.H. Smith<ref>Smith, "The Making of Pandora" ''The Journal of Hellenic Studies'' '''11''' (1890, pp. 278-283), p 283.</ref> notes that in Hesiod's telling "Athene<!--Athene in the original--> and the Seasons brought wreaths of grass and spring flowers, statements which indicate that Hesiod was conscious of Pandora's true significance. To her in the latest days of paganism [[Apollonius of Tyana]] addressed his prayers, and from her apparently obtained that a piece of ground should be fertile both of olives and treasure." |
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In a major departure from Hesiod, the 6th-century Greek [[elegiac]] poet [[Theognis]] tells us: |
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==Pandora as depicted by the vase-painters == |
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[[Jane Ellen Harrison]]<ref>Harrison, ''Prolegomena'' 1922, pp 280-83.</ref> turned to the repertory of vase-painters to shed light on aspects of myth that were left unaddressed or disguised in literature. The story of Pandora was repeated on Greek ceramics. On a fifth century amphora in the [[Ashmolean Museum]] (her fig.71) the half-figure of Pandora emerges from the ground, her arms upraised in the epiphany gesture, to greet Epimetheus.<ref>Compare the rising female figure, identified as Aphrodite, on the "[[Ludovisi Throne]]".</ref> A winged ''[[ker]]'' with a fillet hovers overhead: "Pandora rises from the earth; she ''is'' the Earth, giver of all gifts," Harrison observes. On another vase showing the fashioning of Pandora she is inscribed with her alternative name: ''[A]nesidora'' ("who sends up gifts"). "Pandora is a form or title of the [[Gaia (mythology)|Earth-goddess]] in the [[Persephone|Kore]] form, entirely humanized and vividly personified by mythology." Harrison notes (p. 281), and she quotes a [[scholia|scholium]] on a passage of [[Aristophanes]] mentioning a sacrificed white-fleeced ram to Pandora: "to Pandora, the earth, because she bestows all things necessary for life". Thus Harrison concludes "in the patriarchal mythology of Hesiod her great figure is strangely changed and minished. She is no longer Earth-Born, but the creature, the handiwork of Olympian Zeus." (Harrison, p 284) |
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<blockquote> |
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==Anesidora== |
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Hope is the only good god remaining among mankind;<br /> |
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'''Anesidora''', "who sends up gifts", is an alternative name for Pandora ("all-gifted") and an [[epithet]] assumed by the grain-goddess [[Demeter]], who was venerated as ''Demeter Anesidora'' at Phlios in [[Attica]].<ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], I.31.2.</ref> A marble altar inscribed to Demeter Anesidora, found in the sanctuary of [[Pergamon]]<ref>North of the northeast corner of the great altar on the Demeter terrace</ref> is conserved in Berlin.<ref>Inv. 1910.32.19, illustrated in E. Ohlemutz, ''Die Kulte und Heiligtümer der Götter im Pergamon'', (1940), 218.</ref> |
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the others have left and gone to [[Olympus]].<br /> |
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Trust, a mighty god has gone, Restraint has gone from men,<br /> |
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and the [[Graces]], my friend, have abandoned the earth.<br /> |
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Men’s judicial oaths are no longer to be trusted, nor does anyone<br /> |
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revere the immortal gods; the race of pious men has perished and<br /> |
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men no longer recognize the rules of conduct or acts of piety.<br /> |
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</blockquote> |
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Theognis seems to be hinting at a myth in which the jar contained blessings rather than evils. In this, he appears to follow a possibly pre-Hesiodic tradition (preserved by the 2nd-century AD fabulist Barbrius) that the gods sent a jar containing blessings to humans. A "foolish man" (not Pandora) opened the jar, and most of the blessings were lost forever. Only hope remained, "to promise each of us the good things that fled." that the story of Pandora and her jar is from a pre-Hesiodic myth, and that this explains the confusion and problems with Hesiod's version and its inconclusiveness. M.L. West writes that in earlier myths, Pandora was married to Prometheus, and cites the ancient ''[[Catalogue of Women]]'' as preserving this older tradition, and that the jar may have at one point contained only good things for mankind. He also writes that it may have been that Epimetheus and Pandora and their roles were transposed in the pre-Hesiodic myths, a "mythic inversion". He remarks that there is a curious correlation between Pandora being made out of earth in Hesiod's story, to what is in [[Apollodorus]] that Prometheus created man from water and earth. (Apollodorus, ''Library and Epitome'', ed. Sir James George Frazer.[http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Apollod.+1.7.1] )<ref>M.L. West, ''Works and Days'', p.164.</ref> Hesiod's myth of Pandora's jar, then, could be a amalgam of many variant myths. |
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That Anesidora is an archaic name of [[Pandora]], "all-gifted" is demonstrated by a rendering of the creation of Pandora, who standing between [[Athena]] and [[Hephaestus]], who reaches towards the diadem she is wearing with figures of animals he fashioned for her;<ref>''Theogony 581-82.</ref> she is unequivocally identified as <small>"[A]NESIDORA]"</small>, painted on a white-ground ''[[kylix]]'' in the British Museum. (''illustration above right'').<ref>Ex-collection Bale, inv. no. D62.</ref> The setting of the scene recalls [[Hesiod]]'s ''[[Theogony]]''.<ref>Hesiod, ''Theogony'' 573-580.</ref> |
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==The difficulties of interpretation== |
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==Problems and mistranslation== |
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Most scholars<ref>Hesiod, Works and Days, translation of the word as jar, not box. The word in the Greek text is πιθου ("pithou", from the base "pithos") which describes "a very large jar, usually made of rough-grained terra cotta, used for storage".[3] [4] The classics scholar M.L. West writes about this issue on p.168, in his translation and commentary on Hesiod's Works and Days, confirming it was a jar, and not a box, and the many implications of that. For example, it was likely a jar as large physically, if not larger than a person. Cf. the original text of Hesiod, lines 90, 95. "[90] For ere this the tribes of men lived on earth remote and free from ills and hard toil and heavy sicknesses which bring the Fates upon men; for in misery men grow old quickly. But the woman took off the great lid of the jar with her hands [95] 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. [100] But the rest, countless plagues, wander amongst men; for earth is full of evils, and the sea is full. Of themselves diseases come upon men continually by day and by night, bringing mischief to mortals silently; for wise Zeus took away speech from them".</ref> contend that Pandora's "box" is a mistranslation, and her "box" may have been a large jar or vase, forged from the earth, perhaps because of similarities in shape between a jar and a woman's [[uterus]].<ref>Sujoy Deyasi, Uniphase: A Solution to Albert Einstein's the Unified Field Theory, 2003. "In the story of Pandora the box is representing a woman's womb (the uterus, the vessel in which a new life arrives in this world), and opening of it either by Pandora or by her husband god Epimetheus is referring to our conscious knowledge that we can have sex anytime. What came out of the box is human emotion." [7] This claim should be viewed with scholarly skepticism as it is far from the mainstream. It is only included here to fulfill a prior citation.</ref> Padraic Colum suggested that Pandora herself was the "jar,"<ref>, "Orpheus" in ''Myths of the World'' (1930:71). "The jar, like Pandora herself, had been made and filled out of the ill-will of Zeus. And it had been filled, not with salves and charms and washes, as the women thought, but with Cares and Troubles." This should be viewed with scholarly skepticism as it is an extrapolation to see Pandora being the vessel herself.</ref> and released the evils upon the world when put on the earth. <!--unnecessary editorial:But many believe the Greeks would not think of a woman as pure evil, therefore this would not be sufficient to the story.--> |
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In Hesiodic scholarship, the interpretive [[crux]] has endured: Is Hope's imprisonment inside the jar a benefit for mankind, or a further bane? A number of mythology textbooks echo the sentiments of M.L. West: "[Hope's retention in the jar] is comforting, and we are to be thankful for this antidote to our present ills."<ref>As he puts it in his 1978 commentary ad 96.</ref> Some scholars such as Mark Griffith, however, take the opposite view: "[Hope] seems to be a blessing witheld from men so that their life should be the more dreary and depressing."<ref>In his 1983 commentary ad ''PV'' 250.</ref> One's interpretation hangs on two related questions: First, how are we to render ''elpis'', the Greek word usually translated as "hope"? Second, does the jar preserve ''Elpis'' for men, or keep ''Elpis'' away from men? |
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==''Pithos'' into "box"== |
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The mistranslation of ''pithos'' as "box" is usually attributed to the sixteenth century humanist [[Erasmus of Rotterdam]] when he translated Hesiod's tale of Pandora. [[Hesiod]] uses the word "pithos" which refers to a jar used to store grain. It is possible that Erasmus confused "[[pithos]]" with "[[Pyxis (pottery)|pyxis]]" which means box. The scholar M.L. West has written that Erasmus may have mixed up the story of Pandora with the story found elsewhere of a box which was opened by [[Eros and Psyche|Psyche]]<ref>West, Hesiod's ''Works and Days'', p.168.</ref> |
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The first question might confuse the non-specialist. But as with most ancient Greek words, ''elpis'' can be translated a number of ways. A number of scholars prefer the neutral translation of "expectation." But expectation of what? Classical authors use the word ''elpis'' to mean "expectation of bad," as well as "expectation of good." Statistical analysis demonstrates that the latter sense appears five times more than the former in all of ancient Greek literature.<ref>Leinieks 1984, 1-4.</ref> Others hold the minority view that ''elpis'' should be rendered, "expectation of evil" (''vel sim''.).<ref>E.g., Verdenius 1985; Blumer 2001.</ref> |
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The original Greek text from 700 BC of Hesiod's ''Works and Days'', whence we get the earliest extant story of Pandora and the jar, does ''not'' specify exactly what was in the box Pandora opened.<ref>M.L. West, ''Works and Days'', p.168. "Hesiod omits to say where the jar came from, and what Pandora had in mind when she opened it, and what exactly it contained". West goes on to say this contributes to the "inconclusive Pandora legend".</ref> |
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How one answers the first question largely depends on the answer to the second question: should we interpret the jar to function as a prison, or a pantry?<ref>The prison/pantry terminology comes from Verdenius 1985 ad 96.</ref> The jar certainly serves as a prison for the evils that Pandora released -- they only affect mankind once outside the jar. Some have argued that logic dictates, therefore, that the jar acts as a prison for ''Elpis'' as well, witholding it from men.<ref>Scholars holding this view (e.g., Walcot 1961, 250) point out that the jar is termed an "unbreakable" (in Greek: ''arrektos'') house. In Greek literature (e.g., Homer, and elsewhere in Hesiod), the word ''arrektos'' is applied to structures meant to sequester or otherwise restrain its contents.</ref> If one takes ''elpis'' to mean expectant hope, then the myth's tone is pessimistic: All the evils in the world were scattered from Pandora's jar, while the one potentially mitigating force -- Hope -- remains locked securely inside.<ref>See Griffith 1984 above.</ref> |
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This interpretation raises yet another question, complicating the debate: are we to take Hope in an absolute sense, or in a narrow sense where we understand Hope to mean hope only as it pertains to the evils released from the jar? If Hope is imprisoned in the jar, does this mean that human existence is utterly hopeless? This is the most pessimistic reading possible for the myth. A less pessimistic interpretation (still pessimistic, to be sure) understands the myth to say: countless evils fled Pandora's jar and plague human existence; the hope that we might be able to master these evils remains imprisoned inside the jar. Life is not hopeless, but each of us is hopelessly human.<ref>Thus Athanassakis 1983 in his commentary ad ''Works'' 96.</ref> |
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An objection to the ''hope is good/the jar is a prison'' interpretation counters that, if the jar is full of evils, then what is expectant hope -- a blessing -- doing among them? This objection leads some to render ''elpis'' as the expectation of evil, which would make the myth's tone somewhat optimistic: although humankind is troubled by all the evils in the world, at least we are spared the continual expectation of evil, which would make life unbearable.<ref>See n. 8</ref> |
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Seemingly the most popular interpretation is the optimistic reading of the myth expressed (e.g.) by M.L. West. ''Elpis'' takes the more common meaning of expectant hope. And while the jar served as a prison for the evils that escaped, it thereafter serves as a residence for Hope. West explains, "It would be absurd to represent either the presence of ills by their confinement in a jar or the presence of hope by its escape from one."<ref>West 1988, 169-70.</ref> Hope is thus preserved as a benefit for humans.<ref>Taking the jar to serve as a prison at some times and as a pantry at others will also accomodate another pessimistic interpretation of the myth. In this reading, attention is paid to the phrase ''moune Elpis'' -- "only Hope," or "Hope alone." A minority opinion construes the phrase instead to mean "empty Hope" or "baseless Hope": not only are humans plagued by a multitude of evils, but they persist in the fruitless hope that things might get better. Thus Beall 1989 227-28.</ref> |
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==All-giving Pandora: a mythic inversion== |
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The etymology of Pandora's name provided in ''Works and Days'' is an incorrect [[folk etymology]]. Pandora properly means "all-giving" rather than "all-gifted." An alternate name for Pandora attested on a white-ground [[kylix]] (ca. 460 BC) is Anesidora, which similarly means "she who sends up gifts." The vase painting clearly depicts Hephastus and Athena putting the finishing touches on the first woman, as in the ''Theogony''. Written above this figure (a convention in Greek vase painting) is the name Anesidora. More commonly, however, the epithet ''anesidora'' is applied to [[Gaea]] or [[Demeter]]. |
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This connection of Pandora to Gaea and Demeter through the name Anesidora provides a clue as to Pandora's evolution as a mythic figure. In classical scholarship it is generally posited that -- for female deities in particular -- one or more secondary mythic entities sometimes "splinter off" (so to speak) from a primary entity, assuming aspects of the original in the process. The most famous example of this is the putative division of all the aspects of the so-called [[Great Goddess]] into a number of goddesses with more specialized functions -- Gaea, Demeter, [[Persephone]], [[Artemis]] and [[Hecate]] among them. Pandora appears to be just such a product of this process. In a previous incarnation now lost to us, Pandora/Anesidora would have taken on aspects of Gaea and Demeter. She would embody the fertility of the earth and its capacity to bear grain and fruits for the benefit of humankind.<ref>Hence, possibly, the variant myth that Pandora's jar contained blessings for mankind.</ref> [[Jane Ellen Harrison]]<ref>Harrison, ''Prolegomena'' 1922, pp 280-83.</ref> turned to the repertory of vase-painters to shed light on aspects of myth that were left unaddressed or disguised in literature. The story of Pandora was repeated on Greek ceramics. On a fifth century amphora in the [[Ashmolean Museum]] (her fig.71) the half-figure of Pandora emerges from the ground, her arms upraised in the epiphany gesture, to greet Epimetheus.<ref>Compare the rising female figure, identified as Aphrodite, on the "[[Ludovisi Throne]]".</ref> A winged ''[[ker]]'' with a fillet hovers overhead: "Pandora rises from the earth; she ''is'' the Earth, giver of all gifts," Harrison observes. |
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Over time this "all-giving" goddess somehow devolved into an "all-gifted" mortal woman. T. A. Sinclair, commenting on ''Works and Days''<ref>Sinclair, editor, ''Hesiod: Works and Days'' (London: Macmillan) 1932:12.</ref> argues that Hesiod shows no awareness of the mythology of such a divine "giver". A.H. Smith<ref>Smith, "The Making of Pandora" ''The Journal of Hellenic Studies'' '''11''' (1890, pp. 278-283), p 283.</ref>, however, notes that in Hesiod's account Athena and the Seasons brought wreaths of grass and spring flowers to Pandora, indicating that Hesiod was conscious of Pandora's original "all-giving" function. [[Jane Ellen Harrison]] sees in Hesiod's story "evidence of a shift from matriarchy to patriarchy in Greek culture. As the life-bringing goddess Pandora is eclipsed, the death-bringing human Pandora arises."<ref>William E. Phipps, "Eve and Pandora contrasted" ''Theology Today'' '''45''' [http://theologytoday.ptsem.edu/apr1988/v45-1-article3.htm on-line text]</ref> Thus Harrison concludes "in the patriarchal mythology of Hesiod her great figure is strangely changed and diminished. She is no longer Earth-Born, but the creature, the handiwork of Olympian Zeus." (Harrison, p 284)[[Robert Graves]], quoting Harrison, <ref>Harrison, ''Prolegomena to the Study of Greek Religion'' (1903) 1922:283-85 quoted in Graves, ''The Greek Myths'' (1955) 1960, sect.39.8 p 148.</ref> asserts that "Pandora is not a genuine myth, but an anti-feminist fable, probably of his own invention." |
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The Hesiodic myth did not, however, completely obliterate the memory of the all-giving goddess Pandora. A scholium to line 971 of [[Aristophanes]]' ''[[The Birds (play)|The Birds]]'' mentions a cult "to Pandora, the earth, because she bestows all things necessary for life". Certain vase paintings dated to the 5th century BC likewise indicate that the myth of the goddess Pandora endured for centuries after the time of Hesiod. |
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==Feminist interpretations of Pandora's jar== |
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The myth's [[misogyny]] is apparent in the transformation of a goddess who gives all good things to men into a mortal woman both intrinsically evil and who moreover introduces every conceivable evil to mankind. Modern feminist literary criticism has also focused on the gendered symbolism inherent in the myth. Pandora's jar, according to this school of thought, represents the female womb. That the jar releases a myriad evils upon the earth suggests the phallocentric culture's unease with female sexuality.<ref>See, for example, Reeder 1995, 195-99 and 277-279; Zeitlin 1995 ''passim'', but particularly the chapter on Pandora: "Signifying Difference: The Case of Hesiod's Pandora." For an extensive bibliography on women in ancient Greek myth and society, see the list of references compiled by John Porter: http://homepage.usask.ca/~jrp638/Biblios/Womenindrama.html</ref> |
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==''Pithos'' into "box"== |
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The mistranslation of ''pithos'' as "box" is usually attributed to the sixteenth century humanist [[Erasmus of Rotterdam]] when he translated Hesiod's tale of Pandora. Hesiod uses the word "pithos" which refers to a jar used to store grain. Erasmus, however, translated ''pithos'' into the Latin word ''pyxis'', meaning "box".<ref>The scholar M.L. West has written that Erasmus may have confused the story of Pandora with the story found elsewhere of a box which was opened by [[Eros and Psyche|Psyche]].</ref> The phrase "Pandora's box" has endured ever since. |
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M.L. West has written<ref> West, ''Works and Days'', p.164.</ref> that the story of Pandora and her jar is from a pre-Hesiodic myth, and that this explains the confusion and problems with Hesiod's version and its inconclusiveness. He writes that in earlier myths, Pandora was married to Prometheus, and cites the ancient ''[[Catalogue of Women]]'' as preserving this older tradition, and that the jar may have at one point contained only good things for mankind. He also writes that it may have been that Epimetheus and Pandora and their roles were transposed in the pre-Hesiodic myths, a "mythic inversion". He remarks that there is a curious correlation between Pandora being made out of earth in Hesiod's story, to what is in [[Apollodorus]] that Prometheus created man from water and earth. (Apollodorus, ''Library and Epitome'', ed. Sir James George Frazer.[http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Apollod.+1.7.1] )<ref>M.L. West, ''Works and Days'', p.164.</ref> |
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==Modern interpretations== |
==Modern interpretations== |
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The story of Pandora's Box can be interpreted in more than one way, but is often thought to be a version of "[[curiosity killed the cat]]". |
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The story of Pandora's Box can be interpreted in more than one way, but is often thought to be a version of "[[curiosity killed the cat]]". |
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Various feminist scholars{{Who|date=July 2007}} believe that in an earlier set of myths, Pandora was the [[Great Goddess]], provider of the gifts that made life and culture possible, and that Hesiod's tale can be seen as part of a propaganda campaign to demote her from her previously revered status. For an alternate view of Pandora, see [[Charlene Spretnak]]'s ''[[Lost Goddesses of Early Greece|Lost Goddesses of Early Greece; A Collection of Pre-Hellenic Mythology]]'', [[1977]]. |
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The presence of hope in a jar full of evils for mankind raises questions about whether Hope is a comfort for the evil mankind experiences, or whether the hope for something better must be interpreted as the damnation of mankind. |
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In the movie [[Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life]], Pandora's box is held to be the source of all life (and anti-life). By controlling it, the |
In the movie [[Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life]], Pandora's box is held to be the source of all life (and anti-life). By controlling it, the antagonists hope to have a super-weapon that would make them rich beyond dreams. [[Lara Croft|Lara]] finds the box and returns it to its original resting place. |
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In the TV show ''[[Bewitched]]'', [[Elizabeth Montgomery]] played both [[Samantha Stephens]] and her cousin [[Serina]]. When Serina was on the show, she was credited as being played by "Pandora Spocks." |
In the TV show ''[[Bewitched]]'', [[Elizabeth Montgomery]] played both [[Samantha Stephens]] and her cousin [[Serina]]. When Serina was on the show, she was credited as being played by "Pandora Spocks." |
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In the Playstation 2 game ''[[God of War (video game)|God of War]]'', Pandora's Box is a weapon so powerful that a mortal could use it to kill a god. The player, as [[Kratos]], must conquer a trap-filled temple to retrieve the Box and use it to kill [[Ares]]. |
In the Playstation 2 game ''[[God of War (video game)|God of War]]'', Pandora's Box is a weapon so powerful that a mortal could use it to kill a god. The player, as [[Kratos]], must conquer a trap-filled temple to retrieve the Box and use it to kill [[Ares]]. |
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== References in pop culture == |
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== Trivia == |
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The myth has been mentioned or influenced in several modern fictional works without fully being staged |
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{{trivia}} |
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*In one episode of Charmed,Pandora's box is a big part of the plotline. |
*In one episode of Charmed,Pandora's box is a big part of the plotline. |
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*In one episode of NUMB3RS,Pandora's box is a big part of the plotline. |
*In one episode of NUMB3RS,Pandora's box is a big part of the plotline. |
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==Notes== |
==Notes== |
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{{reflist}} |
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{{reflist|2}} |
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==References== |
==References== |
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* Athanassakis, A. ''Hesiod: Theogony, Works and Days, Shield'' (New York 1983). |
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* Beall, E. "The Contents of Hesiod's Pandora Jar: ''Erga'' 94-98," Hermes 117 (1989) 227-30. |
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*[[Jane Ellen Harrison]], ''Prolegomena to the Study of Greek Religion'' (1903) 1922, pp 280-85. |
*[[Jane Ellen Harrison]], ''Prolegomena to the Study of Greek Religion'' (1903) 1922, pp 280-85. |
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* Griffith, Mark. ''Aeschylus ''Prometheus Bound'' Text and Commentary'' (Cambridge 1983). |
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* Hesiod, ''Works and Days'' [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Hes.+WD+1 On-line text]. |
* Hesiod, ''Works and Days'' [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Hes.+WD+1 On-line text]. |
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* Leinieks, V. "''Elpis'' in Hesiod, ''Works and Days'' 96," ''Philologus'' 128 (1984) 1-8. |
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* Moore, Clifford H. ''The Religious Thought of the Greeks'', 1916. |
* Moore, Clifford H. ''The Religious Thought of the Greeks'', 1916. |
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* Nilsson, Martin P. ''History of Greek Religion'', 1949. |
* Nilsson, Martin P. ''History of Greek Religion'', 1949. |
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* [[William Smith (lexicographer)|Smith, William]], ''[[Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology]]'', 1870, sub "Pandora" [http://www.ancientlibrary.com/smith-bio/2444.html On-line text] |
* [[William Smith (lexicographer)|Smith, William]], ''[[Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology]]'', 1870, sub "Pandora" [http://www.ancientlibrary.com/smith-bio/2444.html On-line text] |
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*[http://www.ancientlibrary.com/smith-bio/0186.html William Smith, ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'' (1870) vol I:177, sub "Anesidora"] "Spender" is a misprint of "sender", often repeated. |
*[http://www.ancientlibrary.com/smith-bio/0186.html William Smith, ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'' (1870) vol I:177, sub "Anesidora"] "Spender" is a misprint of "sender", often repeated. |
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* Verdenius, W. ''A Commentary on Hesiod ''Works and Days'' vv 1-382'' (Leiden 1985). |
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* West, M.L. ''Hesiod, ''Theogony'', ed. with prolegomena and commentary'' (Oxford 1966). |
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* -- ''Hesiod, ''Works and Days'', ed. with prolegomena and commentary'' (Oxford 1978). |
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* -- ''Hesiod, ''Theogony'', and Works and Days'' (Oxford 1988). |
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* Zeitlin, Froma. ''Playing the Other: Gender and Society in Classical Greek Literature'' (Princeton 1995). |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
Revision as of 15:21, 16 September 2007
In Greek mythology, Pandora was the first woman. Zeus ordered her creation as a punishment for mankind, in retaliation for Prometheus' having stolen fire and then giving it to humans for their use. She is most famous for having brought with her a jar (or box) containing all the world's evils. She releases these evils, but closes the jar before Hope can escape.
The myth according to Hesiod: the Theogony
The Pandora myth first appears in lines 560-612 of Hesiod's (ca. 8th-7th centuries BC) epic poem, the Theogony. After humans received the gift of fire from Prometheus, an angry Zeus decided to give men another gift to compensate for the boon they had been given. He commands Hephaestus to create the first woman, a "beautiful evil" whose descendants would torment the race of men. After Hephaestus does so, Zeus' daughter Athena dressed her in a silvery gown, a broidered veil, garlands and an ornate crown of gold. This woman goes unnamed in the Theogony, but is presumably Pandora, whose myth Hesiod would revisit. When she first appears before gods and mortals, "wonder seized them" as they looked upon her. But she was "sheer guile, not to be withstood by men." Hesiod elaborates (590-93):
From her is the race of women and female kind:
of her is the deadly race and tribe of women who
live amongst mortal men to their great trouble,
no helpmeets in hateful poverty, but only in wealth.
Hesiod goes on to lament that men who try to avoid the evil of women by avoiding marriage will fare no better (604-7):
He reaches deadly old age without anyone to tend his years,
and though he at least has no lack of livelihood while he lives,
yet, when he is dead, his kinsfolk divide his possessions amongst them.
Hesiod concedes that occasionally a man finds a good wife, but still (609) "evil contends with good."
The myth continued: Works and Days
The more famous version of the Pandora myth comes from another of Hesiod's poems, the Works and Days. In this version of the myth (lines 60-105), Hesiod expands upon her origin, and morever widens the scope of the misery she inflicts on mankind. As before, she is created by Hephaestus, but now more gods contribute to her completion (63-82): Athena taught her needlework and weaving (63-4); Aphrodite "shed grace upon her head and cruel longing and cares that weary the limbs" (65-6); Hermes gave her "a shameful mind and deceitful nature" (67-8); Hermes also gave her the power of speech, putting in her "lies and crafty words" (77-80) ; Athena then clothed her (72); next she, Persuasion and the Charites adorned her with necklaces and other finery (72-4); the Horae adorned her with a garland crown (75). Finally, Hermes gives this woman a name: Pandora -- "All-gifted" -- "because all the Olympians gave her a gift" (81).[1] In this retelling of her story, Pandora's deceitful feminine nature becomes the least of mankinds' worries. For she brings with her a jar[2] containing[3] "burdensome toil and sickness that brings death to men" (91-2), diseases (102) and "a myriad other pains" (100). Prometheus had (fearing further reprisals) warned his brother Epimetheus not to accept any gifts from Zeus. But Epimetheus did not listen; he accepted Pandora, who promptly scattered the contents of her jar. As a result, Hesiod tells us, "the earth and sea are full of evils" (101). One item, however, did not escape the jar (96-9):
Only Hope was left within her unbreakable house,
she remained under the lip of the jar, and did not
fly away. Before [she could], Pandora replaced the
lid of the jar. This was the will of aegis-bearing
Zeus the Cloudgatherer.
Hesiod closes with this moral (105): "Thus it is not possible to escape the mind of Zeus."
Later embellishments
Later mythographers would fill in minor details or add postscripts to Hesiod's account. For example, Apollodorus and Hyginus each make explicit what might be latent in the Hesiodic text: Epimetheus and Pandora were married. They each add that they had a daughter, Pyrrha, who married Deucalion, son of Prometheus. "Pandora" was named as a daughter-in-law of Noah in writings attributed to the Chaldean historian of the 3rd century BC, Berossus, by the 15th century monk Annio da Viterbo, but this is now widely regarded as a forgery.
In a major departure from Hesiod, the 6th-century Greek elegiac poet Theognis tells us:
Hope is the only good god remaining among mankind;
the others have left and gone to Olympus.
Trust, a mighty god has gone, Restraint has gone from men,
and the Graces, my friend, have abandoned the earth.
Men’s judicial oaths are no longer to be trusted, nor does anyone
revere the immortal gods; the race of pious men has perished and
men no longer recognize the rules of conduct or acts of piety.
Theognis seems to be hinting at a myth in which the jar contained blessings rather than evils. In this, he appears to follow a possibly pre-Hesiodic tradition (preserved by the 2nd-century AD fabulist Barbrius) that the gods sent a jar containing blessings to humans. A "foolish man" (not Pandora) opened the jar, and most of the blessings were lost forever. Only hope remained, "to promise each of us the good things that fled." that the story of Pandora and her jar is from a pre-Hesiodic myth, and that this explains the confusion and problems with Hesiod's version and its inconclusiveness. M.L. West writes that in earlier myths, Pandora was married to Prometheus, and cites the ancient Catalogue of Women as preserving this older tradition, and that the jar may have at one point contained only good things for mankind. He also writes that it may have been that Epimetheus and Pandora and their roles were transposed in the pre-Hesiodic myths, a "mythic inversion". He remarks that there is a curious correlation between Pandora being made out of earth in Hesiod's story, to what is in Apollodorus that Prometheus created man from water and earth. (Apollodorus, Library and Epitome, ed. Sir James George Frazer.[1] )[4] Hesiod's myth of Pandora's jar, then, could be a amalgam of many variant myths.
The difficulties of interpretation
In Hesiodic scholarship, the interpretive crux has endured: Is Hope's imprisonment inside the jar a benefit for mankind, or a further bane? A number of mythology textbooks echo the sentiments of M.L. West: "[Hope's retention in the jar] is comforting, and we are to be thankful for this antidote to our present ills."[5] Some scholars such as Mark Griffith, however, take the opposite view: "[Hope] seems to be a blessing witheld from men so that their life should be the more dreary and depressing."[6] One's interpretation hangs on two related questions: First, how are we to render elpis, the Greek word usually translated as "hope"? Second, does the jar preserve Elpis for men, or keep Elpis away from men?
The first question might confuse the non-specialist. But as with most ancient Greek words, elpis can be translated a number of ways. A number of scholars prefer the neutral translation of "expectation." But expectation of what? Classical authors use the word elpis to mean "expectation of bad," as well as "expectation of good." Statistical analysis demonstrates that the latter sense appears five times more than the former in all of ancient Greek literature.[7] Others hold the minority view that elpis should be rendered, "expectation of evil" (vel sim.).[8]
How one answers the first question largely depends on the answer to the second question: should we interpret the jar to function as a prison, or a pantry?[9] The jar certainly serves as a prison for the evils that Pandora released -- they only affect mankind once outside the jar. Some have argued that logic dictates, therefore, that the jar acts as a prison for Elpis as well, witholding it from men.[10] If one takes elpis to mean expectant hope, then the myth's tone is pessimistic: All the evils in the world were scattered from Pandora's jar, while the one potentially mitigating force -- Hope -- remains locked securely inside.[11]
This interpretation raises yet another question, complicating the debate: are we to take Hope in an absolute sense, or in a narrow sense where we understand Hope to mean hope only as it pertains to the evils released from the jar? If Hope is imprisoned in the jar, does this mean that human existence is utterly hopeless? This is the most pessimistic reading possible for the myth. A less pessimistic interpretation (still pessimistic, to be sure) understands the myth to say: countless evils fled Pandora's jar and plague human existence; the hope that we might be able to master these evils remains imprisoned inside the jar. Life is not hopeless, but each of us is hopelessly human.[12]
An objection to the hope is good/the jar is a prison interpretation counters that, if the jar is full of evils, then what is expectant hope -- a blessing -- doing among them? This objection leads some to render elpis as the expectation of evil, which would make the myth's tone somewhat optimistic: although humankind is troubled by all the evils in the world, at least we are spared the continual expectation of evil, which would make life unbearable.[13]
Seemingly the most popular interpretation is the optimistic reading of the myth expressed (e.g.) by M.L. West. Elpis takes the more common meaning of expectant hope. And while the jar served as a prison for the evils that escaped, it thereafter serves as a residence for Hope. West explains, "It would be absurd to represent either the presence of ills by their confinement in a jar or the presence of hope by its escape from one."[14] Hope is thus preserved as a benefit for humans.[15]
All-giving Pandora: a mythic inversion
The etymology of Pandora's name provided in Works and Days is an incorrect folk etymology. Pandora properly means "all-giving" rather than "all-gifted." An alternate name for Pandora attested on a white-ground kylix (ca. 460 BC) is Anesidora, which similarly means "she who sends up gifts." The vase painting clearly depicts Hephastus and Athena putting the finishing touches on the first woman, as in the Theogony. Written above this figure (a convention in Greek vase painting) is the name Anesidora. More commonly, however, the epithet anesidora is applied to Gaea or Demeter.
This connection of Pandora to Gaea and Demeter through the name Anesidora provides a clue as to Pandora's evolution as a mythic figure. In classical scholarship it is generally posited that -- for female deities in particular -- one or more secondary mythic entities sometimes "splinter off" (so to speak) from a primary entity, assuming aspects of the original in the process. The most famous example of this is the putative division of all the aspects of the so-called Great Goddess into a number of goddesses with more specialized functions -- Gaea, Demeter, Persephone, Artemis and Hecate among them. Pandora appears to be just such a product of this process. In a previous incarnation now lost to us, Pandora/Anesidora would have taken on aspects of Gaea and Demeter. She would embody the fertility of the earth and its capacity to bear grain and fruits for the benefit of humankind.[16] Jane Ellen Harrison[17] turned to the repertory of vase-painters to shed light on aspects of myth that were left unaddressed or disguised in literature. The story of Pandora was repeated on Greek ceramics. On a fifth century amphora in the Ashmolean Museum (her fig.71) the half-figure of Pandora emerges from the ground, her arms upraised in the epiphany gesture, to greet Epimetheus.[18] A winged ker with a fillet hovers overhead: "Pandora rises from the earth; she is the Earth, giver of all gifts," Harrison observes.
Over time this "all-giving" goddess somehow devolved into an "all-gifted" mortal woman. T. A. Sinclair, commenting on Works and Days[19] argues that Hesiod shows no awareness of the mythology of such a divine "giver". A.H. Smith[20], however, notes that in Hesiod's account Athena and the Seasons brought wreaths of grass and spring flowers to Pandora, indicating that Hesiod was conscious of Pandora's original "all-giving" function. Jane Ellen Harrison sees in Hesiod's story "evidence of a shift from matriarchy to patriarchy in Greek culture. As the life-bringing goddess Pandora is eclipsed, the death-bringing human Pandora arises."[21] Thus Harrison concludes "in the patriarchal mythology of Hesiod her great figure is strangely changed and diminished. She is no longer Earth-Born, but the creature, the handiwork of Olympian Zeus." (Harrison, p 284)Robert Graves, quoting Harrison, [22] asserts that "Pandora is not a genuine myth, but an anti-feminist fable, probably of his own invention."
The Hesiodic myth did not, however, completely obliterate the memory of the all-giving goddess Pandora. A scholium to line 971 of Aristophanes' The Birds mentions a cult "to Pandora, the earth, because she bestows all things necessary for life". Certain vase paintings dated to the 5th century BC likewise indicate that the myth of the goddess Pandora endured for centuries after the time of Hesiod.
Feminist interpretations of Pandora's jar
The myth's misogyny is apparent in the transformation of a goddess who gives all good things to men into a mortal woman both intrinsically evil and who moreover introduces every conceivable evil to mankind. Modern feminist literary criticism has also focused on the gendered symbolism inherent in the myth. Pandora's jar, according to this school of thought, represents the female womb. That the jar releases a myriad evils upon the earth suggests the phallocentric culture's unease with female sexuality.[23]
Pithos into "box"
The mistranslation of pithos as "box" is usually attributed to the sixteenth century humanist Erasmus of Rotterdam when he translated Hesiod's tale of Pandora. Hesiod uses the word "pithos" which refers to a jar used to store grain. Erasmus, however, translated pithos into the Latin word pyxis, meaning "box".[24] The phrase "Pandora's box" has endured ever since.
Modern interpretations
The story of Pandora's Box can be interpreted in more than one way, but is often thought to be a version of "curiosity killed the cat".
In the movie Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, Pandora's box is held to be the source of all life (and anti-life). By controlling it, the antagonists hope to have a super-weapon that would make them rich beyond dreams. Lara finds the box and returns it to its original resting place.
In the TV show Bewitched, Elizabeth Montgomery played both Samantha Stephens and her cousin Serina. When Serina was on the show, she was credited as being played by "Pandora Spocks."
In the Playstation 2 game God of War, Pandora's Box is a weapon so powerful that a mortal could use it to kill a god. The player, as Kratos, must conquer a trap-filled temple to retrieve the Box and use it to kill Ares.
References in pop culture
The myth has been mentioned or influenced in several modern fictional works without fully being staged
- In one episode of Charmed,Pandora's box is a big part of the plotline.
- In one episode of NUMB3RS,Pandora's box is a big part of the plotline.
- In the video game Legendary: The Box a thief unwittingly opens Pandora's box and has to fight monsters in New York City.
See also
- Eumorpha pandorus The Pandora sphinx moth
Notes
- ^ As we often find in Greek mythology, this is a folk etymology and thus inaccurate. In Greek, Pandora's name has an active rather than a passive meaning; hence, Pandora properly means "All-giving." The implications of this mistranslation are explored in "All-giving Pandora: mythic inversion?" below.
- ^ A pithos is a very large jar, usually made of rough-grained terra cotta, used for storage.
- ^ Contra M.L. West, Works and Days, p.168. "Hesiod omits to say where the jar came from, and what Pandora had in mind when she opened it, and what exactly it contained". West goes on to say this contributes to the "inconclusive Pandora legend".
- ^ M.L. West, Works and Days, p.164.
- ^ As he puts it in his 1978 commentary ad 96.
- ^ In his 1983 commentary ad PV 250.
- ^ Leinieks 1984, 1-4.
- ^ E.g., Verdenius 1985; Blumer 2001.
- ^ The prison/pantry terminology comes from Verdenius 1985 ad 96.
- ^ Scholars holding this view (e.g., Walcot 1961, 250) point out that the jar is termed an "unbreakable" (in Greek: arrektos) house. In Greek literature (e.g., Homer, and elsewhere in Hesiod), the word arrektos is applied to structures meant to sequester or otherwise restrain its contents.
- ^ See Griffith 1984 above.
- ^ Thus Athanassakis 1983 in his commentary ad Works 96.
- ^ See n. 8
- ^ West 1988, 169-70.
- ^ Taking the jar to serve as a prison at some times and as a pantry at others will also accomodate another pessimistic interpretation of the myth. In this reading, attention is paid to the phrase moune Elpis -- "only Hope," or "Hope alone." A minority opinion construes the phrase instead to mean "empty Hope" or "baseless Hope": not only are humans plagued by a multitude of evils, but they persist in the fruitless hope that things might get better. Thus Beall 1989 227-28.
- ^ Hence, possibly, the variant myth that Pandora's jar contained blessings for mankind.
- ^ Harrison, Prolegomena 1922, pp 280-83.
- ^ Compare the rising female figure, identified as Aphrodite, on the "Ludovisi Throne".
- ^ Sinclair, editor, Hesiod: Works and Days (London: Macmillan) 1932:12.
- ^ Smith, "The Making of Pandora" The Journal of Hellenic Studies 11 (1890, pp. 278-283), p 283.
- ^ William E. Phipps, "Eve and Pandora contrasted" Theology Today 45 on-line text
- ^ Harrison, Prolegomena to the Study of Greek Religion (1903) 1922:283-85 quoted in Graves, The Greek Myths (1955) 1960, sect.39.8 p 148.
- ^ See, for example, Reeder 1995, 195-99 and 277-279; Zeitlin 1995 passim, but particularly the chapter on Pandora: "Signifying Difference: The Case of Hesiod's Pandora." For an extensive bibliography on women in ancient Greek myth and society, see the list of references compiled by John Porter: http://homepage.usask.ca/~jrp638/Biblios/Womenindrama.html
- ^ The scholar M.L. West has written that Erasmus may have confused the story of Pandora with the story found elsewhere of a box which was opened by Psyche.
References
- Athanassakis, A. Hesiod: Theogony, Works and Days, Shield (New York 1983).
- Beall, E. "The Contents of Hesiod's Pandora Jar: Erga 94-98," Hermes 117 (1989) 227-30.
- Jane Ellen Harrison, Prolegomena to the Study of Greek Religion (1903) 1922, pp 280-85.
- Griffith, Mark. Aeschylus Prometheus Bound Text and Commentary (Cambridge 1983).
- Hesiod, Works and Days On-line text.
- Leinieks, V. "Elpis in Hesiod, Works and Days 96," Philologus 128 (1984) 1-8.
- Moore, Clifford H. The Religious Thought of the Greeks, 1916.
- Nilsson, Martin P. History of Greek Religion, 1949.
- Pucci, Pietro. Hesiod and the Language of Poetry, 1977.
- Smith, William, Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, 1870, sub "Pandora" On-line text
- William Smith, Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (1870) vol I:177, sub "Anesidora" "Spender" is a misprint of "sender", often repeated.
- Verdenius, W. A Commentary on Hesiod Works and Days vv 1-382 (Leiden 1985).
- West, M.L. Hesiod, Theogony, ed. with prolegomena and commentary (Oxford 1966).
- -- Hesiod, Works and Days, ed. with prolegomena and commentary (Oxford 1978).
- -- Hesiod, Theogony, and Works and Days (Oxford 1988).
- Zeitlin, Froma. Playing the Other: Gender and Society in Classical Greek Literature (Princeton 1995).