Pandora, the first woman in Greek mythology, whose name was derived from the Greek origin meaning “all gifted” or “all giving.” Zeus wanted to punish Prometheus for stealing fire from the Gods and giving it to humans. He asked Hephaestus to create a creature that would bring seducing gifts to punish all of humanity.
Hephaestus sculpted a sweet, lovely, and maiden-shaped woman created from Earth and water. Athena was said to have dressed the creature in her best silks and taught her weaving and needlework.
Pandora herself wasn’t enough to punish humans, the plagues and evils that the Gods bestowed on her were dressed in a beautiful box or jar, also known as Pandora’s Box, which is recognized as one of the most expressive myths in the world.
The beautiful, mesmerizing box she was gifted was filled with sickness, death, and other evils that would plague the world and the people in it.
Pandora later married Epimetheus, Prometheus’ brother, and he accepted Pandora’s box because he was amazed by her beauty, though Prometheus told his brother to never take a gift from any of the Olympians. The Gods told Pandora that the jar was filled with wonderful gifts which she was never allowed to open. Out of interest, not spite, Pandora opened the jar which instantly released all the evils into the world. Noticing what she had done she closed the jar and all that was left on the inside was hope.
This is why legend says that hope is the last thing that dies in a man.
Zeus let it happen and wanted people to suffer in order for them to understand that they should never disobey their Gods. Pandora was the perfect person to open the box because it was not out of malice or spite but curiosity.
The release of the plagues and evils was known as the Golden Age of Man, which was the mythical first period of man, where humans lived like Gods never knowing the sadness in life or pain of hard working labor. When they would pass away it was as if they were falling into a deep sleep.
The myth of Pandora’s Box has been astonishing people and their beliefs for years. Many have depicted her in sculptures, poems, and other various forms of art. Pandora's story has existed for centuries to address the question of why evil exists in the world.