Question

Explain, in your own words, your thoughts about the possible meaning or meanings behind the story of Pandora.

Answer 1

LITERATURE

A Summary and Analysis of the ‘Pandora’s Box’ Myth

By Dr Oliver Tearle

The story or myth of ‘Pandora’s box’ is slightly unusual among Greco-Roman myths in having its origins – at least its written origins – not in the work of Homer or later myth-collectors like the great Roman poet Ovid, but in the Greek didactic poet Hesiod, who tells the story of Pandora’s box in his Works and Days, a poem composed in around 700 BC.

Answer 2

The story of Pandora, like many stories in the religious/mythological genre, is a cautionary tale about the danger of man's curiosity. Pandora opened the jar (Pandora's box) out of curiosity, despite being warned by the gods against opening it, and all the evil of the world was released. This story is very similar to that of Adam and Eve. Both Eve and Pandora are the first women on earth, and they both, out of curiosity, open the realm of evil to mankind.