The Story of Pandora’s Box

This ancient Greek myth starts with Prometheus’ gift to mankind, which was the gift of fire. When Zeus, ruler of Olympus, found out, he was filled with
rage! Fuelled by his anger, he punished Prometheus by shackling him in chains and each day he’d send an eagle to peck out his immortal liver, which
grew back overnight!

Zeus also decided that mankind needed punishment too, so he commissioned Hephaestus and Athena to create the very first human, flesh and blood
woman. Aphrodite gave her the ability to charm all men, and Hermes the gift of trickery and deceit. They breathed life into her and named her Pandora.
Even though she was mortal, Zeus decided to marry Pandora to Epimetheus, Prometheus’ brother. She was given as a gift to Epimetheus, and he was
overjoyed at the idea!

Prometheus tried to warn his brother that this was also a form of punishment, but Epimetheus laughed at him and joked saying ‘If this is what Zeus’
punishment is like, he can punish me more often, for Pandora is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen!’

Pandora came with a dowry which included many beautiful things, the most odd was a box made out of clay, with clear instructions that it never ever be
opened. Pandora was as curious as she was beautiful and longed to open the box, but she brimmed with excitement at life on Earth, so this stilled her
longing for what was in the box for some time. But because of her thirst for knowledge, often her mind would drift back to thoughts about the box.

Pandora itched to find out what treasure was so great it could never be looked on with human eyes, or why it had been placed into her care. She swore
that she often heard voices spilling out of the box, begging to be set free. The enigma of the box became maddening to Pandora!

Over time, the box became an obsession to Pandora, it was as if forces beyond her control were pulling her towards the box, saying her name over and
over. One day she could resist the temptation no longer. She stole away from Epimetheus, ‘just one peek inside, and then I can rid my mind of this
forever’ Pandora thought.

But at the first crack of the lid, the box flew open, monsters, spectres and awful sounds rushed out surrounding Pandora, screeching and cackling. She
desperately tried to trap the creatures back into their box, but to no avail, they billowed away and were now free in the world of mortals!

As Pandora wept and shuddered, she heard a soft whisper coming from the box. This voice wasn’t the cruel howl of demons, it was a light twinkling
sound that eased her anguish. Pandora once again opened the box, and a warm beam of light floated out, as the light fluttered around the evil Pandora
had released, her fears melted away. She knew that opening the box was irreversible, but she had also set free hope to temper the effects of the evil.

Many years later, Prometheus was freed by none other than Hercules, Zeus’ own son. Hearing about the injustice Prometheus suffered, Hercules kills
the liver pecking eagle and unbinds Prometheus from his chains. Although Hercules had Zeus’ permission to free Prometheus, we never find out why he
changed his mind to set Prometheus free, but it has been speculated that Prometheus knew of a huge secret about Zeus that he didn’t want to be
known!

The Story of Pandora’s Box

This ancient Greek myth starts with Prometheus’ gift to mankind, which was the gift of fire. When Zeus, ruler of Olympus, found out, he was filled with
rage! Fuelled by his anger, he punished Prometheus by shackling him in chains and each day he’d send an eagle to peck out his immortal liver, which
grew back overnight!

Zeus also decided that mankind needed punishment too, so he commissioned Hephaestus and Athena to create the very first human, flesh and blood
woman. Aphrodite gave her the ability to charm all men, and Hermes the gift of trickery and deceit. They breathed life into her and named her Pandora.
Even though she was mortal, Zeus decided to marry Pandora to Epimetheus, Prometheus’ brother. She was given as a gift to Epimetheus, and he was
overjoyed at the idea!

Prometheus tried to warn his brother that this was also a form of punishment, but Epimetheus laughed at him and joked saying ‘If this is what Zeus’
punishment is like, he can punish me more often, for Pandora is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen!’

Pandora came with a dowry which included many beautiful things, the most odd was a box made out of clay, with clear instructions that it never ever be
opened. Pandora was as curious as she was beautiful and longed to open the box, but she brimmed with excitement at life on Earth, so this stilled her
longing for what was in the box for some time. But because of her thirst for knowledge, often her mind would drift back to thoughts about the box.

Pandora itched to find out what treasure was so great it could never be looked on with human eyes, or why it had been placed into her care. She swore
that she often heard voices spilling out of the box, begging to be set free. The enigma of the box became maddening to Pandora!

Over time, the box became an obsession to Pandora, it was as if forces beyond her control were pulling her towards the box, saying her name over and
over. One day she could resist the temptation no longer. She stole away from Epimetheus, ‘just one peek inside, and then I can rid my mind of this
forever’ Pandora thought.

But at the first crack of the lid, the box flew open, monsters, spectres and awful sounds rushed out surrounding Pandora, screeching and cackling. She
desperately tried to trap the creatures back into their box, but to no avail, they billowed away and were now free in the world of mortals!

As Pandora wept and shuddered, she heard a soft whisper coming from the box. This voice wasn’t the cruel howl of demons, it was a light twinkling
sound that eased her anguish. Pandora once again opened the box, and a warm beam of light floated out, as the light fluttered around the evil Pandora
had released, her fears melted away. She knew that opening the box was irreversible, but she had also set free hope to temper the effects of the evil.

Many years later, Prometheus was freed by none other than Hercules, Zeus’ own son. Hearing about the injustice Prometheus suffered, Hercules kills
the liver pecking eagle and unbinds Prometheus from his chains. Although Hercules had Zeus’ permission to free Prometheus, we never find out why he
changed his mind to set Prometheus free, but it has been speculated that Prometheus knew of a huge secret about Zeus that he didn’t want to be
known!