So said the father of men and gods, and laughed aloud. But I will give men as the price for fire an evil thing in which they may all be glad of heart while they embrace their own destruction.’ But afterwards Zeus who gathers the clouds said to him in anger : ‘Son of Iapetos, surpassing all in cunning, you are glad that you have outwitted me and stolen fire-a great plague to you yourself and to men that shall be. He hid fire but that the noble son of Iapetos stole again for men from Zeus the counsellor in a hollow fennel-stalk, so that Zeus who delights in thunder did not see it. Zeus in the anger of his heart hid it, because Prometheus the crafty deceived him therefore he planned sorrow and mischief against men. "The gods keep hidden from men the means of life. Evelyn-White) (Greek epic C8th or C7th B.C.) : Source: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.ĬLASSICAL LITERATURE QUOTES The creation of Pandora, Athenian red-figure kylix C5th B.C., British Museum Pandora also occurs as a surname of Gaea (Earth), as the giver of all. In the Orphic poems Pandora occurs as an infernal awful divinity, and is associated with Hecate and the Erinnyes (Orph. The birth of Pandora was represented on the pedestal of the statue of Athena, in the Parthenon at Athens (Paus. Later writers speak of a vessel of Pandora, containing all the blessings of the gods, which would have been preserved for the human race, had not Pandora opened the vessel, so that the winged blessings escaped irrecoverably. 350) others make Pandora a daughter of Pyrrha and Deucalion (Eustath. According to some mythographers, Epimetheus became by her the father of Pyrrha and Deucalion (Hygin. Hermes took her to Epimetheus, who forgot the advice of his brother Prometheus, not to accept any gift from Zeus, and from that moment all miseries came down upon men (Hes. Aphrodite adorned her with beauty, Hermes gave her boldness and cunning, and the gods called her Pandora, as each of the Olympians had given her some power by which she was to work the ruin of man. When Prometheus had stolen the fire from heaven, Zeus in revenge caused Hephaestus to make a woman out of earth, who by her charms and beauty should bring misery upon the human race (Hes. the giver of all, or endowed with every thing, is the name of the first woman on earth. PYRRHA (by Epimetheus) (Apollodorus 1.46, Hyginus Fabulae 142) NONE (created by the gods) (Hesiod Works & Days 54, Hesiod Theogony 560, Aeschylus Frag 204, Sophocles Pandora, Pausanias 1.24.7, Hyginus Fabulae 142) OFFSPRING Sometimes she is surrounded by dancing Satyroi (Satyrs) in a scene from a lost Satyr-play by Sophokles. She appears as either a statue-like figure surrounded by gods, or as a woman rising out of the earth (called the anodos in Greek). The creation of Pandora was often depicted in ancient Greek vase painting. To repopulate the earth they were instructed to cast stones over their shoulder which formed a new race of men and women. She and her husband Deukalion (Deucalion) were the sole survivors of the Great Deluge. Pandora's daughter Pyrrha (Fire) was the first child born of a mortal mother. Only Elpis (Hope) remained behind, a single blessing to ease mankind's suffering. These would forever after plague mankind. Zeus gave Pandora a storage jar ( pithos) as a wedding gift which she opened, releasing the swarm of evil spirits trapped within. He then had her delivered to Prometheus' foolish younger brother Epimetheus as a bride. Zeus was angered and commanded Hephaistos (Hephaestus) and the other gods create the first woman Pandora, endowing her with beauty and cunning. He afterwards grew displeased with the mean lot imposed on them by the gods and so stole fire from heaven. The Titan Prometheus was once assigned the task of creating the race of man. PANDORA was the first mortal woman who was formed out of clay by the gods. All-Gifts ( pan, doros) Epimetheus and the birth of Pandora, Athenian red-figure amphora C5th B.C., Ashmolean Museum
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