PANDORA'S BOX

END OF THE GOLDEN AGE -  

In the processes of creating mankind, Zeus accepted to provide almost everything but eternal fire. Prometheus, who created mankind with the clay from Eastern Africa (earth), under sun (heat), by Zeus’s saliva (water), Athena’s breathe (air) won’t be satisfied enough and feels as if something’s missing. He steals eternal fire from heaven by going against Zeus’s restrictions. There were many consequences when Zeus came to know but one is creating a woman. Till then there was only one gender preset, male kind. (That’s why the name “man-kind” came into existence). There’s no death. It’s called the “Golden Age”. Zeus didn’t agree to create female kind by considering his wife Hera. Later, Zeus decides to divert Prometheus’s brother, Epimetheus by creating a female and getting her to wed him. So Zeus with the help of his son Hephaestus created a female with the breathe of Aphrodite (Goddess of beauty; That is why female are considered to be beautiful and soft). She’s the first mortal woman and she’s named as “Pandora”. It means “All-Gifted” in Greek. As everyone gifts her according to their powers, Zeus gifts her a box and asks her not to open it ever. Pandora agrees to Zeus and there after marries Epimetheus in the absence of his brother Prometheus. They’ll be happy until one day when she’s very anxious to know what’s inside the box. Out of curiosity, she opens the box. From the box, all the negativity enters the earth. Evil children of Dark (Erebus) and Night (Nyx) like violence, lies, pain, starvation, battles, disputes, illness, deceit, misery arrived. Pandora manages to close the box but she doesn’t know the last thing that’s left in the jar is ‘Hope’. Some theories say that she opened the box and hence even though the world’s filled with all the negativity, with hope we may survive. 

                                      Pandora releasing children of Nyx and Erebus into the earth

Reference Book - Mythos by Stephen Fry

Picture - Pinterest