The first mortals lived happy and virtuous lives on earth. The air was clean and filled with fragrances; the sun shone in the sky all year round, the earth gave birth to juicy fruits in abundance, and fragrant flowers bloomed everywhere. The man was happy with his life. He knew neither cold, nor hunger, nor disease, nor death. Jupiter, who rightly believed that all these benefits went to man thanks to Promethean fire, was terribly dissatisfied and decided to punish people because this divine gift fell into their hands .
He gathered the gods on Olympus, and they, after consulting with each other, decided to create a woman, and as soon as she was created, each of them breathed into her a piece of their charm, which made her irresistible.
Their efforts were not in vain. The gods have not forgotten anything, it remains only to come up with a name for this beautiful creature, and the gods, after conferring, decided to call her Pandora. They asked Mercury to take it to Prometheus as a gift from heaven, but he knew well that he had nothing to expect good from the gods, and refused to accept it. In addition, he warned his brother Epimetes so that he would not be seduced by this gift either. But Epimetus, unfortunately, did not differ in the foresight of his brother and, seeing the woman, exclaimed: “Such a beautiful and gentle creature is not capable of evil deeds!” and gladly accepted it.
The myth of Pandora's box
They spent the first days of their life together, walking serenely, hand in hand, in the cool forest shade, among garlands of fragrant flowers, satisfying their hunger with juicy fruits that hung so low that it was enough to just reach out to pick them.
But one evening, dancing on the lawn, they saw that Jupiter's messenger, Mercury, was approaching them. He walked slowly and wearily, his clothes were covered with dust and stained with mud, and a chest lay on his shoulders, bending him to the ground with its weight. Pandora stopped and, with feminine curiosity, began to wonder what might be in this huge chest. She whispered to Epimetes to find out what brought Mercury here. Epimetes complied with her request, but Mercury did not answer his question and only asked permission to leave the chest for storage in their house, explaining that he was too tired to deliver it to its destination today, and promised to pick up the box soon. This permission was given to him. With a sigh of relief, Mercury put the chest in a corner and left, refusing the offer of hospitable hosts to rest and eat.
But he did not have time to go beyond the threshold, as Pandora wanted to look at the contents of the mysterious box. Epimetus, surprised and shocked by his wife's desire, declared that it was indecent to look into other people's things. And then for the first time he saw displeasure on the beautiful face of his beloved. Epimete hurried to call her to the fresh air, where their friends were having fun and playing, but Pandora for the first time rejected his proposal. Frustrated and discouraged, Epimetus left the house alone, hoping that she would soon join him and try to make amends with her caresses.
Left alone with the mysterious chest, Pandora burned with curiosity. She cautiously approached him and began to look at him with interest. It was made of dark wood, and the head was carved into the lid, so skillfully that Pandora thought she was smiling and encouraging her. The box was tied with a shiny gold cord, which was tied in an intricate knot on the lid. Pandora, who prided herself on her skillful fingers, had no doubt that she could untie it, and thought it would be no harm if she simply loosened the knot a little without looking under the lid. And she set to work. But no matter how hard she tried to loosen the knot, she couldn't. Again and again she heard the laughter of Epimetus and his friends playing on the lawn. They called her to come out and join them, but she did not want to leave the chest. And so, when Pandora, in desperation, wanted to give up all attempts to untie the knot, he suddenly gave way under her trembling fingers, and the golden cord fell to the floor.
Whispering sounds came from the box to Pandora's ear. After she untied the knot, they grew louder, and holding her breath, she put her ear to the lid, wanting to make sure that these sounds really come from there. It is easy to imagine her surprise when she heard the words uttered in a plaintive voice: “Pandora, dear Pandora! Have pity on us, let us out of this gloomy prison! Open the lid, we beg you, open it!”
Pandora's heart beat so fast and loudly that its beats momentarily drowned out all other sounds. To open the box or not to open? Familiar footsteps reached her ears. It was Epimet. She knew he was coming to force her out of the house. But then she will not be able to find out who is sitting in the chest. And she hurriedly opened its lid to have time to see what was inside.
The insidious Jupiter put all diseases, misfortunes, vices and crimes into the chest, and as soon as the lid of the chest was opened, they flew out and, under the guise of small creatures with brown wings, very similar to moths, began to circle around Epimetus, who entered the house, and around Pandora, mercilessly biting and stinging them. Then they flew out through the open windows and door and attacked the friends of Epimetus, and their joyful cries were immediately replaced by plaintive moans.
Prior to this, Epimetus and Pandora had never experienced pain or anger, but as soon as the winged evil spirits bit them, they wept and - alas! For the first time in their lives, they quarreled. Epimete began to bitterly reproach his wife for her recklessness, but in the midst of his reproaches, he suddenly heard a plaintive voice crying out for freedom. The voice came from the chest, the lid of which Pandora slammed shut as soon as she felt the first bouts of pain. “Open, open, I will heal your wounds! Please let me out of here,” the voice begged.
The unfortunate spouses looked at each other inquiringly and listened again. A plaintive voice again reached their ears, and Epimetes ordered his wife to open the lid and let out the one who asked for freedom, adding that she had brought so much evil with her unbearable curiosity that there would be no more, and that there must be in the chest there is some good spirit who can help them.
And Pandora did a good deed by opening the box a second time, for the gods, filled with pity for man, hid one good being, Hope, among the spirits of evil, who began to heal the wounds inflicted by those who sat with her in the chest.
Fluttering lightly in her snow-white robes, Nadezhda touched the bitten places on the body of Pandora and Epimetus, and the pain immediately subsided. After that, she quickly flew out of the open window and began to heal other victims of evil spirits, instilling vigor in them.
So, according to the beliefs of the ancients, evil appeared in the world, bringing with it unbearable suffering, but hope always follows it, helping suffering people and promising them a happy future.
Since then, people have forgotten many gods, but they always revered Hope.
Pandora's Box
The wise seer Prometheus had a brother-titan named Epimetheus, which in Greek means "thinking later."
He was, as they say, strong in hindsight. That's what Zeus decided to make an instrument of revenge against Prometheus and the people under his wards.
The Thunderer ordered the blacksmith Hephaestus to mix water with earth and fashion a lovely girl. Many gods took part in the creation of this creature - the first woman among mortals. Athena, along with the Charites, dressed her in a sparkling silver dress and put a golden necklace around her neck. Aphrodite gave a seductive smile and a gentle voice. And Hermes put a deceitful soul into her chest, and flattering speeches into her mouth. They called the "newborn" Pandora - "gifted by the gods." And they sent Hermes to take this unearthly miracle to the naive and gullible Epimetheus.
For a long time and more than once Prometheus warned his brother: "Do not accept gifts from Zeus." But Pandora was so good and seductive that Epimetheus could not resist and took the girl as his wife.
The hostess appeared in the house, who began to poke her nose everywhere. Most of all, she was attracted by a vessel with a heavy lid, sent by the gods along with her with a strict ban: "Do not open it!" But it is impossible to curb female curiosity. Choosing a moment when no one saw her, Pandora opened the lid. Troubles hidden in a vessel escaped from prison - wars, illnesses, vices - and quickly spread among people. Only Hope did not have time to jump out of the vessel before Pandora slammed the lid ...
Thus evil and adversity came to earth. Day and night they approach people with inaudible steps and, mastering their feelings, spoil life.
To this day, it is believed that excessive curiosity is one of the destructive vices leading to troubles and misfortunes. Speaking of him, and today they commemorate the "vessel of Pandora." True, we often say - Pandora's box.
PANDORA'S BOX
Titan Prometheus did a lot of useful things to people. He brought them fire, knowledge, taught them many crafts, and life on earth changed, people became happier. Upon learning of this, the Thunderer Zeus severely punished Prometheus. He made him suffer and suffer for several centuries. And then, having learned his secret and forgiving him, he still could not help but take revenge on people and sent indestructible evil to the earth.
The Thunderer has developed an insidious plan. He called the gods to him. The blacksmith Hephaestus, a friend of Prometheus, was given the task of mixing water and earth and fashioning a girl from this mixture who would be irresistibly beautiful and resemble real goddesses with her appearance. When she is ready, she should be endowed with strength and a charming voice. Then he ordered his daughter Pallas Athena to weave for her unusual clothes, just like those worn by goddesses. Then Zeus asked Aphrodite to teach the girl all kinds of love wisdom, and ordered Hermes to endow her with a cunning mind.
And the gods began to fulfill these commands. Hephaestus molded a beautiful girl from earth and water. The gods worked together to breathe life into her. Athena with her charms dressed up the girl, made her look like beautiful goddesses, Hermes taught her to speak intelligently and be curious, and Aphrodite taught her how to seduce men. And the gods called the girl molded from water and earth Pandora, which meant "endowed with all gifts." As conceived by Zeus, Pandora was supposed to bring misfortune to people.
When everything was ready, Zeus ordered Pandora to be lowered to the ground and taken to Prometheus' brother, Epimetheus, who, in contrast to his wise brother, was not distinguished by a far-sighted mind. Prometheus repeatedly warned him to be careful and in no case accept gifts from Zeus. But when he saw Pandora, Epimetheus quickly forgot all the orders of his older brother.
Pandora played before him the role of an innocent girl and embarrassed him with her sweet speeches. Epimetheus couldn't take his eyes off Pandora. The girl was like a goddess, she was wearing expensive clothes, she spoke smartly, and Epimetheus completely lost his head, he asked her to become his wife. The girl immediately agreed and began to host in his house.
Pandora was very curious, Hermes specially endowed her with this quality. In her husband's house, she examined all the nooks and crannies and found a strange box in the basement, closed with a heavy lid. Disassembled her desire to know what her husband kept in him. She asked Epimetheus, but he didn't know. He only said that it was impossible to open it, as a big trouble could happen. What, he could not explain, but he also forbade Pandora to open it.
Pandora's curiosity flared up even more, and she began to wait for the right moment. When Epimetheus left the house, she went down to the basement where the box stood and lifted its heavy lid. And immediately various disasters and misfortunes that Zeus concluded there flew out of the box. At the bottom there was only Hope. She also wanted to fly out after the disasters, but the frightened Pandora slammed the lid, and Nadezhda remained at the bottom.
Neither Pandora nor Epimetheus knew that all these were the machinations of Zeus, who wanted to punish happy people. Evil calamities, sufferings, and diseases that flew out of the box immediately spread throughout the earth. The water was filled with evil.
People used to live happily, not knowing evil, hard work and destructive diseases. Now illnesses and disasters began to come to people day and night as uninvited and silent guests. The prudent Zeus deprived them of speechlessness. So the god of thunder took revenge on both Prometheus and the people made happy by him.
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The culture of the ancient Greeks is simply overflowing with various legends, myths and legends. Many of them "survived" to this day, and are quite often used in everyday speech. However, some people have absolutely no idea what the conversation is about when it comes to such sublime things. Today we will reveal to you another interesting myth, this Pandora's Box, which means you can read a little later. I recommend adding our site site to your bookmarks so that you can always find answers to your questions.
However, before I continue, I would like to talk about a couple more of my publications on the topic of phraseological units. For example, what does the dog bark, the caravan goes; how to understand the expression dog in the manger; which means the dog ate; what is Versta Kolomna, etc.
So let's continue what does pandora's box mean open? This term was borrowed from the Greek language "Πανδώρα", which can be translated as "all gifted". So called the wife of the younger brother of Epimetheus.
Pandora's Box- allegorically, this is the source of various misfortunes and troubles
Open Pandora's box- means to do an action with monstrous consequences that cannot be undone
These events happened in ancient times, when Prometheus stole real fire from the gods and gave it to people. Upon learning of this, Zeus severely punished this apostate, but it was too late. Ever since mankind acquired the flame, they began to move away from the gods, and began to revere them less. They invented various crafts and sciences, and came out of the wild state in which they have been until now.
Zeus was quite vindictive, so he decided to punish the human race with terrible punishments. He asked the mighty god Hephaestus, and he fashioned a charming girl from water and earth, who was named pandora.
Each of the gods endowed her with a piece of his power, someone gave her extraordinary beauty, someone strength, and someone cunning. After all these "manipulations", the girl is sent to Earth with a small chest, forbidden to remove the lid from it.
Women never change and curiosity pandora was so great that only once on Earth, she immediately opens her box. At the same moment, all human misfortunes and troubles escaped from it, and scattered all over the planet. The poor woman, frightened, tried to close the lid, but by that moment almost all the misfortunes had left this receptacle, only one "deceptive hope" remained in it. Since then, people have called Pandora's box everything that, if handled carelessly, can become a source of disaster and grief. Today this box contains bacteriological, thermonuclear, chemical and other weapons.
After reading this short but very interesting article, you have learned what does it mean to open pandora's box, and now you will imagine what Pandora means.
PandoraΠανδώρα
Pandora, 1861 |
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| Mythology: | ancient Greek |
| Name interpretation: | all gifted, or giving to all |
| Greek spelling: | Πανδώρα |
| Floor: | female |
| Origin: | by the will of Zeus |
| Mentions: | Hesiod |
| Spouse): | Epimetheus |
| Children: | daughter Pyrrhus |
| Illustrations at Wikimedia Commons | |
Pandora(other Greek Πανδώρα - "all gifted", or all-giving), in ancient Greek mythology - the first woman [* 1], created at the behest of Zeus as a punishment for people for stealing fire for them by Prometheus. Curious, she opened the vessel (πίθος) received from Zeus ( Pandora's Box[* 2]), from which all misfortunes and disasters immediately scattered around the world, and under the slammed lid, only hope remained at the bottom.
In modern times, the phrase "Open Pandora's casket" has become a catchphrase, which means to take an action with irreversible consequences (usually negative).
Mythology
In ancient Greek mythology, Hesiod in Theogony VII century BC. e. - the first woman on earth, created by Hephaestus at the behest of Zeus - as a punishment for people for stealing fire from the gods for them by Prometheus. The god of fire Hephaestus, mixing clay with water, blinded her with the participation of Athena and other gods who gave Pandora gifts (hence her name): so, Aphrodite endowed her with beauty, Hermes - with sweetness, cunning and deceit, Athena dressed her up.
She seduced Epimetheus, the younger brother of Prometheus, and became his wife. From her husband, she learned that in the house there is a casket (or pithos) received by him from Zeus (or this vessel (box) was received by her from Zeus), and it cannot be opened. If the ban is violated, humanity will face incalculable troubles. Yielding to curiosity, she opened it, and they fell upon the world. When Pandora slammed the lid, only hope remained at the bottom - this is interpreted as the fact that people were left deprived of it.
Their daughter Pyrrha and the son of Prometheus Deucalion became spouses with Epimetheus, for their piety they were the only mortals who survived the flood.
It tells about Pandora in Hesiod's Theogony. Hyginus and Apollodorus do not mention her famous box, Hesiod does not mention the birth of Pyrrha.
A white sheep was sacrificed to Pandora. She is the protagonist of the satyr drama "Pandora, or the Hammerers" by Sophocles and the comedy "Pandora" by Nicophon of Athens.
Professor of Moscow State University A. A. Takho-Godi interprets the myth of Pandora as obviously discrediting the feminine principle as destructive and deceitful - in the era of the establishment of patriarchy.
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| waterhouse, Pandora, 1896 |
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Image reception
- Drama Pandora(1992) written by Jean-Christophe Bailly.
Pandora's box - what is in Pandora's box and what is it for?
The expression "Pandora's box" came to us from ancient Greece, becoming the personification of sudden troubles and misfortunes. There is a version that supposedly the thing that the girl Pandora kept, the Greeks called it differently. But, translating this myth, the scientist Erasim of Rotterdam dubbed this object a box in his scientific work "Proverbs". In this form, the saying has survived to this day.
Pandora's box - what is it?
Pandora's box is a casket in which misfortunes and illnesses were enclosed, such a harsh gift was prepared for people by the Greek titan Zeus. Over time, the expression "Pandora's box" became winged, and received a double interpretation:
- The personification of all sorts of troubles.
- An extremely curious person who, with his stubbornness, can harm himself and others.
This myth was very popular among both the Greeks and the Romans, in both legends the blame for what happened was placed on the gods and Pandora, who opened this box. Another interpretation that appeared in the 17th century, thanks to fashion designers, is also interesting. To demonstrate fashionable clothes, mannequins were created, which were willingly placed in the homes of the rich. These figurines are called Pandora because:
- dolls opened chests with outfits;
- misfortunes turned into the beauty of fashionable things and scattered around the world, giving women joy.
Pandora's box - myth or reality?
Scientists have been arguing for decades whether Pandora's box really exists. If we take as a basis the theory that before the appearance of Pandora with harmful baggage on Earth, mankind did not know diseases, we can assume that we are talking about the development of the race. There are versions that the mysterious box of Pandora is:
- An ecological catastrophe that changed the genetics of people.
- A gift from alien civilizations that conducted an experiment on the population of the Earth.
- An object that destroyed the more developed civilizations of our planet, leaving one that survived, but lost the makings of health and the ability to command energies in mutations.
Legend of Pandora's Box
The question immediately arises: why is the vessel of misfortune associated with the name of the girl, and not Zeus, who filled it? This story is told by the myth about Pandora's box, which was preserved by the inhabitants of Hellas. When people received fire from the titan Prometheus and almost equaled the gods, the rulers of Olympus became very angry and decided to punish everyone. They created the beautiful Pandora to bring a box of troubles to Earth.
The name is translated as "gifted by all", each god tried to endow the girl with the best qualities:
- Hephaestus sculpted a wondrous figure;
- Aphrodite gave beauty;
- Athena prepared the richest clothes;
- Hera gave a great mind;
- Hermes - resourcefulness and eloquence;
- Zeus breathed soul and indefatigable curiosity.
What is Pandora's box for?
Pandora's box is a myth similar to the story of a Trojan horse, because the girl herself did not know where and why she was being sent, and even with incomprehensible baggage, which was given by the Thunderer himself. Initially, the beauty was offered as a wife to Prometheus, but he refused, because he was waiting for a dirty trick from the gods. The brother of the titan Epithemeus fell in love with Pandora and took him into his house with a modest dowry. According to the Romans, the luggage of the bride was brought by the god Mercury himself.
What does Pandora's box mean - this is a sophisticated punishment for people that Zeus prepared. And later he became the personification of what he was stuffed with:
- diseases;
- misfortunes.
What's in Pandora's Box?
Some researchers hypothesize that the contents of Zeus's gift were wisely encrypted by the narrators of antiquity. The mystery of Pandora's box remained unsolved for many centuries, but the troubles and illnesses contained in the vessel can be interpreted as:
- deadly or dangerous viruses;
- seeds invisible to the eye, poisoning the earth;
- radiation, provoking all sorts of cataclysms.
If we assume that in ancient times people called aliens from other planets gods, it is quite realistic to admit the existence of a box with dangerous contents. The version is also supported by the fact that Zeus created misfortunes dumb, so that they would sneak up on people quietly and imperceptibly. After all, viruses and radiation are also invisible to the human eye. Philosophers explain the essence of the myth in their own way, supposedly Pandora's box was a receptacle for the energy of evil that spread throughout the world.
Who opened Pandora's box?
Zeus forbade Pandora to open the gift, but at the same time he hoped that the curious beauty would not be able to resist the temptation. The mystery of Pandora's box quickly ceased to be such, the chosen one of the gods inquired about the contents. The myth tells that tiny creatures flew out of there and began to sting the girl. Based on this presentation, it can be assumed that in reality the beauty released insects - carriers of terrible viruses. Legends are silent about the keys to Pandora's box. In the poems of some Greek poets, it is said that Zeus himself allegedly gave the keys to the girl.
What's left in Pandora's box?
The myth says that after the beauty opened the dangerous casket and suffered from the bites of winged creatures, she quickly closed the lid. But then someone's voice ordered to open it again in order to heal from wounds. This was said by Hope, which Zeus gave to people as a consolation. There are two possible events that followed:
- Pandora obeyed, released Hope and was healed.
- The girl was afraid to open the casket again, and Vain Hope remained forever at the bottom.
What's left at the bottom of Pandora's box? According to one of the modern versions, there was an antidote in the vessel with viruses, more like a gas. But it did not block the harm for such possible reasons:
- there was little substance;
- the gas was released from the vessel too late, the carriers of the viruses had already scattered;
- the antidote did not work on all the victims.
In ancient times, the ending of the legend of Pandora's box was interpreted as follows: no matter what suffering falls, a person will always be supported by hope. What is in Pandora's box is still a mystery. Philosophers draw their own conclusions: good and evil do not arise from nowhere, they are created by people themselves. And it depends only on the decision of a person what choice he will make, and with whom he will remain: with the despair of evil or with the hope of good.
What is "pandora's box"?
Sergey popov
Pandora's Box
When the great titan Prometheus stole the fire of the gods from Olympus and gave people the fire of the gods (see "Prometheus Fire"), the father of the gods Zeus punished the daredevil terribly, but it was too late. Possessing the divine flame, people ceased to obey the celestials, learned various sciences, and got out of their miserable state. A little more - and they would have won complete happiness for themselves ...
Then Zeus decided to send punishment on them. The blacksmith god Hephaestus fashioned the beautiful woman Pandora from earth and water. The rest of the gods gave her: some - cunning, some - courage, some - extraordinary beauty. Then, handing her a mysterious box, Zeus sent her to earth, forbidding her to remove the lid from the box. Curious Pandora, barely having come into the world, slightly opened the lid. Immediately all human disasters flew out of there and scattered throughout the universe. Pandora, in fear, tried to close the lid again, but in the box of all misfortunes, only a deceptive hope remained. Remembering this, we now call "Pandora's box" everything that can serve as a source of grief and disaster if careless.
Pasitiffchik
Prrodlor
Pandora was such a goddess in Ancient Greece. Hephaestus created Pandora at the behest of Zeus as a punishment to people for the fact that Prometheus gave them fire. Pandora became the wife of Prometheus' brother, whose name was Epimetheus. In the house of Epimetheus, Pandora saw a box and opened it. All sorts of disasters were kept in the box, from which humanity still suffers. All of them spread over the earth. Therefore, the meaning of the expression "Pandora's box" is a source of troubles and misfortunes.
There is such an ancient Greek legend that Pandora is the first woman that Hephaestus made for a man, and Zeus handed her a jug in which all the evil of the world was enclosed, and said that in no case should she open it, but a woman is a curious creature and she opened the jar, and evil flew out and the world became evil, but she managed to close the jar and hope remained inside
What is Pandora's Box
Melissa
PANDORA'S BOX
Have you ever heard the ancient Greek myth of Pandora's box? Pandora --
girl, created by Hephaestus from earth and water, - they said in no case
open the box, but did not explain why this could not be done. her life
flowed peacefully and serenely, as in the Garden of Eden. But one day the forbidden fruit
again proved irresistibly attractive, and Pandora opened the box. Suddenly
all the misfortunes of the world flew out of him in the form of a cloud of stinging insects,
from the box, bit Pandora and disappeared with glee, scattered all over
light like a host of evil spirits. And only one thing remained in the box - hope. AND
when she began to beg Pandora to let her out, the frightened girl opened
box again. And hope comforted her.
This myth has a very deep meaning. He tells us that always
there is hope. Hope is the opposite of anxiety and
depression. It holds a hint of a better future. "False Hope" is
absurdity. Any hope is real if it makes you
take action to bring the desired future closer.
Hope has no meaning if it does not inspire action.
It is unforgivable to wait passively for things to improve on their own, instead of
to start creating a worthwhile future.
Elena
- there was such a goddess in ancient Greece. Hephaestus created Pandora at the behest of Zeus as a punishment to people for the fact that Prometheus gave them fire. Pandora became the wife of Prometheus' brother, whose name was Epimetheus. In the house of Epimetheus, Pandora saw a box and opened it. All sorts of disasters were kept in the box, from which humanity still suffers. All of them spread over the earth. Therefore, the meaning of the expression "Pandora's box" is a source of troubles and misfortunes.
User deleted
Pandora was such a goddess in Ancient Greece. Hephaestus created Pandora at the behest of Zeus as a punishment to people for the fact that Prometheus gave them fire. Pandora became the wife of Prometheus' brother, whose name was Epimetheus. In the house of Epimetheus, Pandora saw a box and opened it. All sorts of disasters were kept in the box, from which humanity still suffers. All of them spread over the earth. Therefore, the meaning of the expression "Pandora's box" is a source of troubles and misfortunes.
Pandora
(Πανδώρα) - the name of the first woman created by Hephaestus, at the behest of Zeus (Hesiod), as a punishment to people for the sin of Prometheus. Hephaestus created her from water and earth in the image of wonderful beauty, told her a human voice, strength and beauty. Aphrodite, Peyto, and the Charites adorned her with the gifts of their divinity; the mountains crowned her with garlands of spring flowers, and Hermes inspired her with flattery, cunning and deceit and also gave her the ability to speak beautifully. Endowed with all these gifts (Πανδώρα, that is, showered with all kinds of gifts), P. also received a vessel (πιθος) from Zeus, in which all human misfortunes were locked. This vessel was given for safekeeping to P.'s wife, the short-sighted Epimetheus, who took it despite the warnings of Prometheus. Tempted by curiosity, P. opened the lid of the vessel and released all human misfortunes, slamming only one Hope, which remained in the vessel, as a substitute for happiness.
Artemy Shabashov
Pandora (Greek Πανδώρα - “gifted with everything”) is the name of the mythical owner of a magic casket with all troubles and hopes.
In ancient Greek myths, Pandora is the wife of Epimetheus, the younger brother of Prometheus. She learned from her husband that there was a chest in the house that should never be opened. If the ban is violated, the whole world and its inhabitants will face incalculable troubles. Yielding to curiosity, she opened the casket and troubles fell upon the world. When Pandora opened the casket, at the bottom of it, by the will of Zeus, only Hope remained.
In our time, the catchphrase has become a catchphrase "Open Pandora's casket", which means to make an action with irreversible consequences that cannot be undone.
Pandora's Box (myth of ancient Greece)
After Prometheus brought fire to people from the forge of Hephaestus and taught them different crafts, people worked and their lives became happier. And the people themselves have become better, kinder and more attentive to each other. After all, they now had a lot of everything, and if something was not enough, then they could do everything themselves. The great thunderer did not like this, and he decided to test people again and sent Evil to them on earth. And so that people would not understand that it was Evil, it had to come to them in the form of a beautiful girl.
Zeus called his son, the god Hephaestus, and ordered him to mix the earth with water and make a girl of extraordinary beauty. Pallas Athena wove for her wonderful clothes from silver threads and put a golden crown on her head. Aphrodite gave the girl an irresistible charm, and Hermes put a deceitful and cunning soul into her chest.
They called the girl Pandora, which meant - "endowed with all the gods." And it really was so, because she received gifts from all the gods.
When the girl was ready, Zeus ordered Hermes to take her to the house of Epimetheus, the brother of Prometheus. Prometheus always warned his foolish brother not to accept any gifts from the cunning Zeus. He knew that these gifts could bring people only disasters and hardships. But Epimetheus did not listen to the wise advice of his brother, and besides everything, the girl was so beautiful in herself that he gladly accepted her and took Pandora as his wife.
Soon Epimetheus was convinced that this time his wise brother was right. Together with Pandora, a large vessel appeared in the house of Epimetheus. It stood in a dark corner for a long time, and no one ever opened it. Everyone knew from somewhere that if the vessel is opened, a big trouble will fall on the ground. So the vessel stood for itself in a secluded place, and no one even dared to think to come close to it. But once the curious and cunning Pandora, languishing with curiosity, slowly made her way to the vessel.
“I won’t open it,” she thought, “but I’ll just slightly open the lid and look inside, what lies there.
And she slightly opened the vessel. But this crack turned out to be enough for all evil, all human vices and misfortunes, illnesses and hardships that were contained in the vessel to fly out of it at once.
Frightened, Pandora slammed the lid shut, but it was too late. All human vices and misfortunes had time to scatter over the earth, and only hope remained at the very bottom of the vessel. So now people were deprived of even a small hope for a better life.
Again, evil settled on earth, people suffered from various disasters that fell on them one after another. New diseases appeared, they could no longer be healed by the medicines that Prometheus gave people.
They have the opportunity to work and get their own food, enjoy life and not be sad, and now they also have a divine fire.
The supreme ruler ordered a woman to be molded with a mixture of water and earth. Almost all the gods of Ancient Greece put their work into the creation of this woman, endowed her with different character traits. gave her beauty, Hermes - deceit and cunning, presented her with beautiful outfits. They called her Pandora, which is translated from Greek as "gifted by the gods." And Hermes took this miracle to Epimetheus. Epimetheus was the brother of Prometheus. He was naive and easily succumbed to other people's influence. So they made him an instrument of revenge on Prometheus.
Very beautiful legend
Epimetheus could not resist the beauty. Conquered by her beauty, he immediately took her as his wife, although Prometheus warned him. Together with Pandora, Zeus presented Epimetheus with a gift - a vessel in which he collected all human suffering, vices, diseases, vices and pain. The box was strictly forbidden to be opened. But Pandora was wondering what was hidden there and she decided to look into it. She stole it from her husband and tried to open it.
But at first she didn't succeed. Sounds came from the vessel. The voices were asking for help. Pandora tried again to open it and succeeded. Troubles, evil, misfortunes, grief began to jump out of the vessel and rain down on people. They bit them in their most vulnerable places.
Pandora got scared and closed the lid. But vices already lived among people and tormented them. Everyone began to get angry, swear at each other, hate each other. She got scared and told everything to her husband. Epimetheus took the vessel and heard a thin, barely perceptible voice. He once again opened the vessel and from there appeared not malice, but a timid, barely noticeable hope. Hope touched the wounded places and all troubles passed from people, pain and despair left. even in our time, it is believed that hope always comes after grief and pain. It gives people confidence in the future.
Excessive curiosity always leads to grief and unhappiness. Speaking of this, we immediately understand what it means "Pandora's Box".
Very often people open their "Pandora's box".
Sometimes their actions lead to negative and irreversible consequences, and maybe everything will end sadly. For example, we can commit an act that greatly hurts a loved one, or we can utter some kind of malicious phrase and it will greatly offend a loved one. All this will lead to resentment, quarrels, misunderstandings. And how to solve all this? Thoughts begin to torment us, we begin to engage in self-eating, we figure out how to fix everything and where to start. And sometimes, because of some stupid resentment, we stop being together with our loved ones and relatives.
Many people foolishly waste their lives in anger, tormented by resentment. Stop communicating with relatives. Therefore, no one should open Pandora's box. And if you have already opened it, then it is best to solve everything quickly, to avoid misunderstandings. It is better to forget all grievances and reconcile faster. You should never carry in your soul a heavy load of anger, despair and resentment all your life.
Surely even Pandora herself did not suspect that this could happen. Curiosity pushed her to such an act. Over time, she obviously regretted what she had done. But in time, hope appeared that saved everyone, cured them of pain and gave a weak light, which still flickers somewhere in the distance. Let it be small, even barely noticeable, but it is so strong that it can bring back to life.
conclusions
The main idea of this phraseological unit is that no matter how difficult the situation is and no matter what misfortunes happen, no matter what pain there is, you must always keep hope. Hope for forgiveness, for understanding.
We can say that "Pandora's box" is a figurative expression. It means the unknown. After all, opening the vessel, we cannot know what will happen in the future. And anything can happen, both bad and good. Until the very last moment, everything remains a mystery.
It is completely unfair that a negative meaning is attributed to the meaning of this phraseological unit. It seems that he opened the box, and troubles fell on his head from there. But after all and pluses can be. There is no good without bad, just hope for the best, by the way.
