Pandora's box

In Greek mythology, Pandora was the first woman.

After Prometheus, a fire god and divine trickster, had stolen fire from heaven and bestowed it upon mortals, Zeus, king of the gods determined to counteract this blessing.

He accordingly commissioned Hephaestus (a god of fire and patron of craftsmen) to fashion a woman out of earth, upon whom the gods bestowed their choicest gifts. This Pandora also had a trait no other mortal had ever been given: curiosity. Before sending Pandora to earth, Zeus asked Epimethus, lord of earth's creatures and Prometheus's brother, if he would accept the new mortal named to help with mankind's work. Epimethus had been warned by Prometheus to accept no gifts from Zeus. But Epimethus gave the warning no thought. He agreed to accept Pandora.

So Pandora and the gift of curiosity were sent to earth. Once there, the messenger gods Iris and Mercury brought to Pandora a large box. Pandora was asked to watch it until they returned and was warned sternly against opening the box under any circumstances.

Pandora's curiosity caused her to open the box. Once it was open, out flew evil, disease, death, sickness, hatred, war, crime, sorrow and all other ills that afflict people. With his usual good hindsight, Epimethus told Pandora to close the box. Pandora obeyed trapping Hope inside.

Before Pandora's opened the box, civilisation had passed through two ages: The Golden Age (a time of peace) when laws, judges and the plough were not needed; and the Silver Age (a time of plenty) when Jupiter made winter and mortals began to plough the earth and plant their food. After Pandora's box was opened, the Bronze Age (a time of crime) began. Mortals made weapons and property was divided up between people. Some got more. Some got less. The Heroic Age (a time of Hercules, Thesues and Jason) and the Iron Age (a time of war) were yet to be.

During the Bronze Age crime became so terrible that Jupiter decided to walk the earth to see what motivated humans crimes against humans. Jupiter went to the earth in the guise of a mortal but gave a sign that a god had come to earth.

The Arcadian King Lycaon mocked Jupiter, laughed at prayers and all those who made sacrifices to the gods. To insult Jupiter all the more, Lycaon killed a fellow human, cooked him in a stew and planned to feed him to Jupiter. Lycaon was angry with Jupiter because his daughter, the Arcadian nymph Calisto, had been turned into a bear by Jupiter's wife Juno. Juno was angry with the nymph because she had borne a son--Arcas--by Jupiter. Lycaon distressed Jupiter so much that he condemned Lycaon to roam the world with wolves. Then he asked the gods on Mount Olympus for permission to destroy the rest of humankind for their evil ways. The gods agreed. The world would be destroyed by flood.

Two good people, Deucalion, son of Prometheus, and Pyrrha, the red-haired daughter of Pandora were spared by the gods. After the flood, their boat came to rest on the twin peaks of Mount Parnassus--the center of the earth. There they consulted the oracle Themis, daughter of Heaven and Earth (Uranus and Gaea), wife of Jupiter; keeper of the scales justice and protector of oppressed people. Themis told them: Cover your heads and throw your mother's bones behind you.

Deucalion and Pyrrha were befuddled. They prayed. They thought. Then Deucalion had it. Their mother was the earth. Its bones were stones. So they threw stones over their shoulders. The stones lost their hardness and took on the form of humans. The stones Deucalion threw turned into men. The stones tossed by Pyrrha turned into women. In this way, the population was replenished. From their own son Hellen, all Greek tribes descended. They are called Hellenes.

Pyrrha also found Pandora's Box. She opened it and at last let Hope out of the box. Once again, there was hope for humankind. Paranormal Page
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