Pandora

The primary source for the Pandora myth is Hesiod's "Works and Days.", but it is one of the myths most argued-over and debated both because of its implications and because the sources for it are diverse and somewhat cryptic.

Pandora is more than a little like Eve, in the Christian mythos, in that she was the first woman created by the gods, and very often, kinda gets blamed for everything bad that ever happened. Eve had a loquacious snake and a fruit of knowledge, Pandora had a JAR, not a box, as is most often thought. The Pandora myth is thought by some to have significantly influenced the story of Eve and its implications, which, let’s face it, did not go too well for women in general.

Basically, in Greek myth, man, and when I say man, I mean ONLY men, were created by Zeus’s once-BFF Prometheus (who happens to be a favourite of mine). They had a somewhat major squabble when Prometheus stole godly fire and gave it to man, resulting in a rather unpleasant couple of millenia for him. He was chained to a rock by Zeus and had his liver pecked out by an eagle / vulture (sources differ) every day, until he was freed by Heracles, a long time later.

Zeus could be pretty pissy, when we get down to brass tacks. He then decided to punish both man and Prometheus some more (REAL drama queen). He got his bro Hephaestus, the heavenly smith, to fashion Pandora, who was gifted with many divine qualities (Pandora, in Greek, means “all-gifted”), including beauty from Aphrodite and curiosity from Hermes. SHe was sent to man as a "beautiful evil". He then married her off to Epimetheus, Prometheus’s brother, giving her a jar containing all the world’s evils, not saying what it was, but instructing her not to open it, knowing full well…like….who wouldn’t open it, FFS?

When her curiosity finally got the better of her and she snuck a peek, all the evils of the world were unleashed. Although there are said to be over 100, the ones I could find are described and named as follows:

Πόνος (Ponos): Pain or Hardship
Λύπη (Lupe): Grief or Sorrow
Τύφος (Tuphos): Mischief or Misfortune
Ατη (Atë): Ruin or Delusion
Πενθος (Penthos): Mourning or Lamentation
Λεθε (Lethe): Forgetfulness or Oblivion

Pandora slammed the lid back on the jar as soon as she realised what she’d done, trapping inside it one last creature. Hope. I’ve shown her here, as she realises she’s been tricked. clinging on to Hope.

Basically, in Zeus’s master-plan, he gets to punish man for obtaining knowledge (fire) by unleashing all the evil in the world and then blame someone else…he was kinda childish like that. Problem is that his choice of scapegoat meant that both men and women were subject to the evils of the world, but that women were blamed for it (in multiple patriarchal mythologies). #justsaying

I could say a lot more about this myth and its implications for women and feminism in general, but I will restrict myself to reflecting on the power of myth itself. The importance of stories, how they transcend culture and creed, and the power they have to influence our society. This power is at once wonderful and terrible. It builds and destroys, it shames and absolves, and it runs through our very veins, each and every one of us. Think about it. - Niki McQueen