“Even though every tale told is not to be believed”
Once upon a time, during the Golden Age, there was a beautiful imaginary island. This magical island was of an uncertain location and it floated on the blue waters somewhat North or South or maybe it was just opposite the mouth of the Mediterranean Sea.
o the shores of this magic island, amidst it’s magic gardens, came a woman who had been sent there from the heavens. Venus had gifted her with beauty, Apollo with music, and Mercury had given her the art of persuasion. This woman was beautiful in mind and body and she had bright dancing eyes, fine delicate features, and long wavy hair. If you gazed at her you would see that wisps of her tresses were so luminous that they almost formed a halo around her golden crown. She was a beguiling creature who was innocent by nature and her thoughts were pure. After the Gods created her and marveled at what they had done, they gave her the name Pandora, meaning “the gift of all”; and after seeing her perfection they knew that no worldly man could resist her, and it was then that Zeus, the father of the Gods and man, planned to send Pandora to the earth as a gift for Epimetheus.
Epimetheus, whose name means “afterthought”, was a impulsive light hearted, scatterbrain who blew his role in the creation of man by giving all of the best gifts to the animals, and did so to the extent that no good was left for man. When he saw what he had done of course he was very sorry. So once again, he expressed his remorse and asked his brother Prometheus, whose name means “forethought”, to help him out. Now Prometheus was very wise, even wiser than the gods and he was able to think of many ways to make man superior. In the beginning he made man upright like the gods. Then in a show of strength and wisdom, Prometheus went up to the heavens and sun where there he took and lit a torch and then he brought fire down to man, thus giving man superiority on earth, and also giving man the ability to make many crafts.
But this noble deed did not bring favor with Zeus, and did not go unpunished. His anger at Prometheus for taking fire from the heavens seems to be behind his sinister motive in sending the irresistible Pandora to Epimetheus. Along with sending Pandora, the gods also sent a pithos, a large jar, with her and gave her strict instructions never to open it. For awhile this unopened jar sat undisturbed. But as she passed this jar every day her natural curiosity and temptation grew. This blessed woman with her unsuspecting nature could never have imagined, that when her natural curiosity finally did get the best of her, that it would shake the heavens and the earth just because she would open that jar.
Now, we have all heard those tales about Pandora, or have read the stories where she has been blamed for releasing the miseries of mankind, but do you ever hear or read anything bad about the conspirators who used and tricked poor Pandora. No! Pandora trusted the Gods, and those gods knew that when they made that heavy-laden jar available to her that she would be tempted to open it and see what was inside. They also knew that with her innocent and unsuspecting nature that she would never imagine that this gifted pithos had been topped off with misery and pain, and that the hope that she had naturally envisioned for humankind was repressed at the bottom of this jar.
So to continue on…one-day Pandora’s curiosity about what was inside this big jar finally got the best of her, and when she thought the God’s weren’t watching she slowly pried opened the lid. As she did, she was almost blown over by the releasing of the pent up energy that flew out from the jar, and when that happened she threw up her arms to protect herself. Poor Pandora was overwhelmed, and she was startled with fear upon seeing the miseries and sorrows to come for mankind. But even in this terrified state she still managed to slam the lid back down, and she did so just in time to capture hope. So as this tale goes, in spite of the betrayals and to the rebuff of the evils and miseries surrounding her Pandora held on to hope, and because she did out of this jar through out immortal time has floated, not the frailties, but the joys and goodness of humankind.
“One story is good until another is told”
Designed and published by
Amaranth Publishing
