17 Unheard Pandora Facts About The First Woman In Greek Mythology

Pandora facts often seem to be variable but we have gathered some of the most fascinating and widely accepted ones!

Pandora is the first mortal woman on Earth according to Hesiod's story. It was she who unleashed evil things on Earth as a part of Zeus's plan of exacting revenge on the Titan brothers named Prometheus and Epimetheus.

As mystical as Pandora's box may sound, it was actually a curse that Zeus sent with a beautiful woman in order to make sure that the Titan brothers and their audacity for having disobeyed him did not go unchecked.

They were being punished for different reasons. While Prometheus was tied to a mountain for giving the man on Earth the power of working with fire, Epimetheus had to go through a much more elaborate game plan and be betrayed by the woman he loved.

Keep reading to know about this tragic story of love, revenge, and hope!

The History Of Pandora

Greek mythology is known to have given the world plenty of stories that are both fascinating and terrifying to some extent.

• The story about Pandora and her box is much like Eve's own story. Pandora's jar and how the first woman failed to contain her curiosity is deemed as a symbol of the evils that are brought to life by a curious woman if she fails to listen to God.
• The Olympian Zeus is known to have been very firm with his ways of governing his people and the creation of Pandora was one of the many rather strict things that he did in order to consolidate his rule and become furthermore feared amongst his disciples.
• The story of Pandora's creation starts with the two Titan brothers named Prometheus and Epimetheus.
• The Titan brothers were given the immense responsibility of creating mankind but both of them somehow angered Zeus in their own ways. Zeus being the disciplinarian that he was, had to make sure that the stature of the Olympian gods was maintained and therefore devised master plans for punishing the brothers.
• To give a little bit more about the Titans, Prometheus, brother of Epimetheus, was known as forethought. Epimetheus, on the other hand, was known as an afterthought.
• Together, they created mankind and gave them many tools and strengths. However, the brothers' love for humankind was such that they went slightly against the will of the mighty Greek god and therefore brought upon a curse upon themselves rather than a blessing.
• Prometheus' tragic mistake was that he decided to go against Zeus in giving people fire. He had asked the Greek god for permission several times and was very connected and sympathetic towards the humans when watching their misery without fire. This, to Zeus, was betrayal and could not go unpunished.
• Epimetheus, on the other hand, was given limited gifts to give Earth and its humans and animals in the course of their creation. However, Epimetheus got a little carried away and decided to use up all the special gifts in the creation of the animals. The gifts were such as claws and shells. It was therefore time for even Epimetheus to be punished.
• Prometheus' punishment was pretty straightforward, although that doesn't mean that it was in any way nice. He was tied with a mountain for eternity.
• As of Epimetheus, his punishment was thought-through in a much more meticulous fashion. Prometheus and his brother had created man and animals but women were yet to make their entrance on Earth. This is where Pandora stepped in. She was the first mortal woman. Bear in mind that Greek goddesses like Athena and Aphrodite were already in existence.
• Pandora was created from clay, in a masterstroke planned by Zeus. He asked Hephaestus to make the first woman to be sent on Earth. The story may seem a little awkward at this point but gods have their own ways of working, right?
• A skilled blacksmith, Hephaestus created the first woman from clay, and then the Greek gods worked their magic into her.
• Pandora was given the blessing of beauty by Aphrodite to make sure that the first woman on Earth was pretty enough for any man to fall in love - especially Epimetheus.
• Hermes gave her the gifts of deceit and manipulation. Athena gave her the knowledge of crafts and dressed her in such clothes that would make her the perfect first woman in the history of humans.
• With all the other gifts, she was also given a jar of secrets by Zeus and was asked to never open it. This is where the story starts to remind us of the forbidden fruit.

Pandora's Powers

The first mortal woman, Pandora, or 'All-Gifted', may just be a fraction of Hesiod's works and may be regarded as just another fictional work but what can't be denied is the fact that the story of her life and the jar that she struggled with for years is reminiscent of the human tendency to seek what is supposed to be forbidden.

• Pandora's powers were given to her by Greek gods and goddesses which is ironic since she was being set up for failure and destruction from the very beginning.
• Once Hephaestus was done making Pandora from clay, she was brought to life by none other than Athena, who also made sure that Pandora was dressed appropriately to be able to captivate anyone. The main aim was to disarm Epimetheus against her beauty since he had already been asked by his brother, Prometheus, to never accept gifts from gods.
• The next and very crucial job was to be done by Aphrodite as she made Pandora extremely beautiful. The trick here was to make sure that Pandora was beautiful and innocent-looking at the same time. This was important so that during her time on Earth, Epimetheus did not become suspicious of any plan that Zeus might have been hatching.
• Hermes also played an extremely crucial role. He is one of the most important gods in the story since he makes Pandora deceitful and manipulative. This would be of paramount importance so that Epimetheus was never sent any hints of the bad things that Zeus intended on doing to the Earth and to humans.
• The one power that Pandora did not have was that of controlling her curiosity. She opened the jar that unleashed mayhem upon humans due to her sheer lack of will, although we can hardly blame her for not being nearly as strong-headed as the gods and goddesses that created her!

Tales About Pandora

Greek mythology sure is fascinating and one of the many things that come to life through such fascination is the tendency to mold the stories.

• The story of Pandora's jar is a part of the history of this world and has been passed around both orally and through text for ages.
• Many elements of the story have now gotten lost in translation, while still others have been changed through the course of being passed on from one generation to the other. However, the fact that Pandora opened the jar and released all the evils within it remains constant.
• One of the many stories that have become a part of history is that Pandora could hear voices from the jar. As scary as it might seem, there are stories that suggest that the poor woman was being tormented by the voices that came from inside the jar and called out to her for help.
• Assuming that the jar was capable of making such scary noises would make it absolutely impossible for us to be able to blame Pandora too much. After all, she was probably just trying to help the people inside the jar!
• History also narrates how the story about Pandora's jar was a way of showing how hope is capable of ridding the Earth of evils. The only true gift that Pandora bore was that of hope.

What is Pandora known for?

Pandora is known for having released all sorts of evils on Earth due to the curse of her curiosity!

• Pandora was sent as a gift to Epimetheus, although she was actually intended as a punishment for him.
• Zeus wanted to punish Epimetheus for using up the special gifts that he gave for the creation of animals on earth too quickly.
• Pandora was sent with a box or jar filled with all the evil that we see on Earth today.
• She later became the wife of Epimetheus and had a daughter with him.
• Pandora's box is a symbol of how the gods should be feared and how their orders must be followed.
• The opening of Pandora's box released evils into the world such as poverty, sadness, misery, and diseases.
• The word 'Pandora' translates as 'all-gifts'.
• There are tales that suggest that Pandora opened the box merely out of curiosity. Other stories suggest that she may have been hearing voices from the box which were calling out for her help.
• There are still other versions of the story which suggest that Pandora may have thought the box contained treasures.
• Even though the tales have been popularized as Pandora's box, that is not the real name of the story.
• Hesiod, a poet, wrote the story as Pandora's jar, although the Greek word for jar was misread as the word for box during translation.
• Pandora became the wife of Epimetheus. Epimetheus translates as an afterthought. Releasing evil forces on mankind was Zeus' way of punishing the Titan. This was because Epimetheus was very fond of humans and animals on Earth.
• Prometheus' son was named Deucalion.
• Deucalion later got married to Pyrrha, who was Pandora and Epimetheus' daughter.