Pandora

hero

Πανδώρα

First woman, opener of the jar of evils

The first mortal woman, created by the gods as a beautiful punishment for mankind. When she opened her jar, all the evils of the world escaped — leaving only Hope inside.

The Myth

After Prometheus stole fire from the gods and gave it to humanity, Zeus devised a punishment: Pandora, the first woman. Each god contributed to her creation: Hephaestus shaped her from clay, Athena clothed her, Aphrodite gave her beauty, and Hermes gave her a cunning mind and deceitful nature.

Zeus presented Pandora to Epimetheus (Prometheus's brother, whose name means "afterthought"), along with a sealed jar (often mistranslated as a box). Despite Prometheus's warning never to accept gifts from Zeus, Epimetheus married her.

Overcome by curiosity, Pandora opened the jar. Out flew every evil that plagues humanity: disease, death, sorrow, poverty, crime, despair. By the time she slammed the lid shut, only one thing remained trapped inside: Hope (Elpis). Whether Hope's imprisonment was a mercy or a final cruelty remains one of mythology's most debated questions.

Parents

Created by the gods

Children

Pyrrha

Symbols

jar (pithos)all gifts

Fun Fact

The famous phrase "Pandora's box" is actually a mistranslation — the original Greek says pithos (jar), not pyxis (box). The error comes from Erasmus in the 16th century.

Words We Inherited

English words and phrases that trace back to this myth:

Pandora's box