Pandora's box

mythosGreek Myths: Pandora's box

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Pandora's box. 13 connected concepts: Titanomachy (related to), Pyxis (vessel) (related to), Theogony (related to), Erasmus (related to), Hesiod (related to), Pithos (related to), Elpis (mythology) (related to), Works and Days (related to), Epimetheus (related to), Prometheus (related to), Zeus (related to), Hope (mythology) (part of), Pandora (has participant).

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Community · Pandora's box

Key points5

Originally described as a 'pithos' or large storage jar in Hesiod's Works and Days.
The term 'box' is a later mistranslation by Erasmus of Rotterdam.
It contained all the sorrows, diseases, and evils that plague mankind.
Hope was the only thing left inside after the lid was closed.
It serves as an etiological myth explaining the origin of human suffering.

Summary

Pandora's box is the artifact in Greek mythology that, when opened, unleashed all the evils of the world upon humanity.

20 words

Connections13

Related toWorks and Days100%
The primary literary text containing the myth
This poem by Hesiod provides the earliest and most detailed account of the myth of Pandora and the jar.
SourcesWikipedia Wikidata Wikipedia Wikidata
Related toEpimetheus100%
The recipient of the container
Epimetheus ignored his brother Prometheus's warning and accepted Pandora, who brought the jar with her into his home.
SourcesWikipedia Wikidata Wikipedia Wikidata
Related toPrometheus100%
The catalyst for the myth
Prometheus's act of stealing fire from the gods prompted Zeus to create Pandora and her jar as a retaliatory measure.
SourcesWikipedia Wikidata Wikipedia Wikidata
Related toZeus100%
The architect of the punishment
Zeus ordered the creation of Pandora and the jar as a trap to punish humanity for Prometheus's theft of fire.
SourcesWikipedia Wikidata Wikipedia Wikidata
Part ofHope (mythology)100%
Hope stayed in the box
Hope is the entity that remained inside the jar after Pandora closed it.
Participant inPandora100%
Pandora opened the box
Pandora is the character who opens the jar, releasing the contents.
Related toHesiod98%
Primary literary source for the myth
Hesiod is the ancient Greek poet who first recorded the story of Pandora and the opening of the jar in his didactic poem.
SourcesWikipedia Wikidata Wikipedia Wikidata
Related toErasmus95%
Responsible for the mistranslation to 'box'
The humanist scholar Erasmus translated the Greek word 'pithos' into the Latin 'pyxis' (box) in his Adagia, popularizing the term 'Pandora's box'.
SourcesWikipedia Wikidata Wikipedia Wikidata
Related toPithos95%
Original container type in the Greek myth
In the original Greek text of Hesiod, Pandora's container is described as a pithos, a large storage jar, rather than the modern 'box' translation.
SourcesWikipedia Wikidata Wikipedia Wikidata
Related toElpis (mythology)95%
The sole remaining content of the container
Hope is the only element that remained inside the jar after Pandora opened it, representing the ambiguity of human suffering and resilience.
SourcesWikipedia Wikidata Wikipedia Wikidata
Related toPyxis (vessel)90%
Latin term that replaced the original Greek container
This is the specific Latin word used by Erasmus that shifted the cultural understanding of the container from a large jar to a small box.
SourcesWikipedia Wikidata Wikipedia Wikidata
Related toTheogony90%
Secondary source for the Pandora myth
This work by Hesiod provides the context for Pandora's creation by the gods, serving as a precursor to the narrative in Works and Days.
SourcesWikipedia Wikidata Wikipedia Wikidata
Related toTitanomachy85%
Contextual conflict leading to the myth
The tension between Zeus and the Titans, specifically Prometheus, serves as the underlying political motivation for Zeus to punish humanity with Pandora.
SourcesWikipedia Wikidata Wikipedia Wikidata

Overview

Pandora's box is a prominent Greek mythological artefact that serves as the central element in the myth of Pandora. First appearing in the c. 700 B.C. poem Works and Days by the poet Hesiod, the object is described as a container holding various evils.

According to the narrative, Pandora was entrusted with the container, but her curiosity compelled her to open it. This action resulted in the release of numerous deadly evils into the world, including brutal toil and terrible illnesses, which have plagued humanity ever since. Later cultural interpretations have frequently shifted focus between the character of Pandora herself and the symbolic contents of the vessel.

108 words

SourcesWikipedia

Facts