The myth of Prometheus and Pandora’s box

There are several versions of the myth of Prometheus and Pandora’s Box. All of them are very beautiful, but there is one that is particularly moving. Account that Zeus, god of gods, finally triumphed in a war against the titans. Some of the latter helped him achieve victory. Among them were Prometheus and his brother Epimitheus.

Because of that collaboration, Zeus allowed the two to live on Olympus, along with the other gods. These in turn commissioned them to create life on Earth. Epimitheus went ahead and created an infinite number of animals that populated the planet. Prometheus, who also wanted to participate in that creative act, arrived late.

When he saw that the Earth was already populated with animals, Prometheus cried. your tears They fell and formed mud. Then it occurred to him to mold that mud and create man, as similar to the gods as possible. That filled him with joy.

The distribution of gifts

The gods had ordered not only to populate the Earth, but also to provide all beings with gifts and abilities. for survival. The myth of Prometheus and Pandora’s Box tells that Epimitheus again went ahead of his brother. He tried to be very equitable, so that neither being could impose itself on the other.

Epitimaeus gave some animals strength, but took away their agility. He made others fragile, but instead he gave them wings so they could fly. He gave some more cunning or quickness. However, He completely forgot to give any gift to the humans that Prometheus had created.

According to the myth of Prometheus and Pandora’s Box, when Prometheus arrived to inspect everything, he realized the serious oversight. The gods were satisfied, because they saw that they could entrust humans with several of the tasks that they were too lazy to perform. They manipulated the men as they pleased and made use of them. Prometheus felt deep sadness .

Fire and the myth of Prometheus and Pandora’s Box

Deeply moved by the fate of humans, Prometheus decided to give them a gift so that they could survive on their own and thus free themselves. from the yoke of the gods. Therefore, he went to the workshop of the god of fire, Hephaestus, and stole fire for humans. They were grateful for the gift, as it guaranteed their survival. Hephaestus, on the other hand, was filled with anger.

Humans began to revere Prometheus for his wonderful gift. This aroused the jealousy of Zeus, who, together with Hephaestus, hatched a plan to punish the titan who had dared to challenge them. He also wanted revenge on the humans, for revering a titan and not him, god of gods.

The myth of Prometheus and Pandora’s Box tells that Zeus had the titan taken to the most horrible stone in the Caucasus. There, Hephaestus chained him, with the help of other gods. Zeus sent an eagle that devoured Prometheus’ liver. At night this organ grew again and the next day the eagle returned again to repeat the punishment eternally. The cries of Prometheus were heard throughout the planet.

Pandora’s box

According to the myth of Prometheus and Pandora’s Box, the plan to punish men was also very cruel. Zeus took a block of stone and carved a woman, whom he named Pandora. She gave him the beauty of the goddesses and the cunning of the gods.. He also gifted her with an insatiable curiosity. Then he sent her to seduce Epimitheus, who fell at her feet.

Pandora carried a box. In it, the gods had deposited all the evils of the planet: anger, crime, injustice, madness, illness… everything bad that there was.. The chest only contained one good: hope, but it was at the bottom, where no one would see it. The gods warned Pandora not to open the box for any reason. They knew that, because of her curiosity, she was not going to obey them.

Thus, Pandora opened the box and then all the evils of the planet escaped to be distributed among men. When she realized this, she closed the box. The only thing left inside her was hope. That is why it is said that “hope is the last thing that is lost.”

Meanwhile, Hercules reached the stone where Prometheus was tied. With an arrow he managed to kill the eagle that was devouring his entrails. He then freed the titan. In gratitude, he revealed to him the way to obtain the golden apples of the Hesperides.

A reflection on the myth

With this myth we see that, For the Greeks, hope is not a gift, but a misfortune. Well, the act of waiting implies always being in lack of something. It means wanting what you don’t have and, consequently, being in a state of dissatisfaction.

When you expect to heal it is because you are sick; When you expect a job it is because you don’t have one, when you expect to be rich it is because you are poor. In this sense, hope seems to be more of an evil than a good.

But, Popular culture conceives hope as a mobilizing engine that gives meaning to life. In this case, hope implies that there is a future to which we must aspire, which poses a need to overcome the present and improve it.

Popular wisdom often says that “hope is the only thing that is lost.” But like every side of the coin, it has its negative side. The myth is clear, Pandora carried all evils within the box, including hope as one of them.

There is no worse hope than waiting for a love that never comes, for luck to change, etc. In fact, to begin grieving, it is necessary to strip ourselves of hope.

However, curiously, hope has been interpreted as telling us that all is not lost, as that which gives a particular confidence in the present and a firm expectation in the future. In this sense, it fulfills the function of a veil, which does not allow us to assume the world as that which is already lost and from there to undertake its transformation into something different.

In conclusion, Hope should never be seen as good or bad, but rather it should be evaluated based on the specific event that we have to live. and with which it is related. The important thing is to find the limit point at which hope becomes our destruction.

You might be interested…