Tim Moran

CLAS170 0204

Pandora Essay

The myth of Pandora as described by Hesiod shares a number of important

parallels with the Biblical story of Adam and Eve, especially concerning the role of

women in the origin of human suffering.

In both myths, temptation is an important factor on multiple levels. In each,

woman tempts man, and brings about a great deal of suffering as a result. However,

the manner in which this result occurs differs between the two stories. In the

Pandora myth, Zeus commands the gods to create Pandora as a vehicle of

temptation and suffering for man because he has been tricked by Prometheus, who

has stolen fire and given it to humans. He is punishing mankind for Prometheus’

deception. Interestingly, Pandora is also tempted, opening the jar and releasing evil

and suffering. In the Biblical story, Eve presents temptation to Adam with the fruit of

knowledge, and she is also tempted by the serpent to do so. In this way, the role of

woman is parallel in these stories, acting as a vehicle for temptation and suffering

for man, and as the bringer of human suffering through their own temptation.

An interesting contrast between these myths is the difference in intentions of

each supreme god in creating woman. In the Biblical account, Yahweh creates

woman from man to be his companion as an act of love and kindness towards his

creation. While he forbids them from eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge, his

intention is not to deliberately tempt humanity. Zeus’ motivations are more hostile,

ordering the creation of Pandora as the intentional cause for man’s suffering. He is

punishing man out of anger towards Prometheus, who has deceived him in order to

benefit mankind.

Another interesting parallel between the stories is that the consequences of

woman’s temptation are largely the same. In the myth of Pandora, her curiosity in

opening the jar of suffering is the cause of life’s hardships, where before this “the

human race had lived off the land without any trouble, no hard work.” In Genesis,

Eve’s acceptance of the fruit from the serpent eventually leads to Yahweh cursing

man to toil over the land of his survival.