The story begins not with a woman, but with fire. When the Titan Prometheus stole fire from the gods in a hollow fennel stalk, the king of the gods, Zeus, was enraged. He decided to punish humanity with a 'beautiful evil,' a gift they could not resist. He commanded Hephaestus, the god of smiths, to mold a maiden from earth and water, creating her in the image of the immortal goddesses. According to the ancient poet Hesiod, this creation was a 'kalon kakon,' a beautiful misfortune for all men. Zeus intended for humanity to receive this irresistible gift and, in doing so, to embrace their own misfortune. The era of men living peacefully alongside gods was about to end, decisively and forever.
Pandora's Box
The myth of Pandora explains humanity's suffering, unleashed from a great jar, but also why Hope remains even in the darkest of times.
Chapter 1
A Beautiful Evil
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Part of
Frequently Asked Questions
Why was Pandora created in Greek mythology?
Pandora was created as a punishment for humanity. After the Titan Prometheus stole fire for mortals, a vengeful Zeus ordered the god Hephaestus to create the first woman as a 'beautiful evil' designed to bring misfortune to mankind.
What was actually inside Pandora's 'box'?
The vessel, originally a large storage jar called a pithos, contained countless evils and miseries. These included sickness, hard toil, and death-spirits which were released upon the world when Pandora opened it. The only thing left inside was Elpis, the spirit of Hope.
Why is it called Pandora's box instead of Pandora's jar?
The term 'box' comes from a 16th-century mistranslation. The scholar Erasmus of Rotterdam confused the Greek word 'pithos' (jar) with 'pyxis' (box) while translating the myth into Latin. This new, more easily imagined image became popular and replaced the original jar in Western culture.
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