0 The culture of the ancient Greeks is simply overflowing with various tales, myths and legends. Many of them have “survived” to this day, and are quite often used in everyday speech. However, some people have absolutely no idea what we are talking about when it comes to such sublime things. Today we will reveal to you another interesting myth, this Pandora's Box, which means you can read it a little later. I recommend adding our website to your bookmarks so that you can always find answers to your questions.
However, before I continue, I would like to talk about a couple more of my publications on the topic of phraseological units. For example, what does it mean: The dog barks, the caravan moves on; how to understand the expression Dog in the manger; which means Ate the Dog; what is Versta Kolomenskaya, etc.
So let's continue what does Pandora's Box mean? open? This term was borrowed from Greek language"Πανδώρα", which can be translated as "gifted by all." That's what they called my wife younger brother Epimethea.

Pandora's Box- allegorically this is the source of various misfortunes and troubles

Open Pandora's Box- means to do an action that carries monstrous consequences that cannot be undone

Zeus was quite vindictive, so he decided to punish the human race with terrible punishments. He asked the mighty god Hephaestus, and he sculpted a charming girl from water and earth, who was named Pandora.
Each of the gods endowed her with a piece of their power, some gave her extraordinary beauty, some strength, and some cunning. After all these “manipulations,” the girl is sent to Earth with a small casket, forbidden to remove the lid from it.

Women never change and curiosity Pandora was so great that as soon as she finds herself on Earth, she immediately opens her box. At the same moment, all human misfortunes and troubles burst out of him and scattered across the entire planet. The poor woman, frightened, tried to close the lid, but by this moment almost all misfortunes had left this container, only one “deceptive hope” remained in it. Since then, people have called Pandora's box everything that, if handled carelessly, can become a source of disaster and grief. Today this box contains bacteriological, thermonuclear, chemical and other weapons.

After reading this short but very interesting article, you learned What does it mean to open Pandora's box?, and now you will imagine what Pandora means.

The first mortals lived happy and virtuous lives on earth. The air was clean and filled with aromas; in the sky all year round The sun was shining, the earth bore juicy fruits in abundance, and fragrant flowers bloomed everywhere. The man was happy with life. He knew neither cold, nor hunger, nor illness, nor death. Jupiter, who rightly believed that all these benefits came to man thanks to Promethean fire, was terribly dissatisfied and decided to punish people for the fact that this divine gift fell into their hands .

He gathered the gods on Olympus, and they, after consulting with each other, decided to create a woman, and, as soon as she was created, each of them breathed into her a piece of his charm, which made her irresistible.

Their efforts were not in vain. The gods did not forget anything, all that remained was to come up with a name for this beautiful creature, and the gods, after consulting, decided to call her Pandora. They asked Mercury to take it to Prometheus as a gift from heaven, but he knew well that he could not expect good from the gods, and refused to accept it. In addition, he warned his brother Epimetus not to be flattered by this gift either. But Epimetus, unfortunately, was not distinguished by the foresight of his brother and, seeing the woman, exclaimed: “Such a beautiful and gentle creature is not capable of evil deeds!” and gladly accepted it.

The myth of Pandora's box

They spent the first days of their life together, walking serenely, holding hands, in the cool forest shade, among garlands of fragrant flowers, satisfying his hunger with juicy fruits that hung so low that it was enough to just stretch out his hand to pick them.

But one evening, while dancing on the lawn, they saw the messenger of Jupiter, Mercury, approaching them. He walked slowly and tiredly, his clothes were covered with dust and stained with mud, and on his shoulders lay a chest, bending him to the ground with its weight. Pandora stopped and, with feminine curiosity, began to wonder what could be in this huge chest. She whispered to Epimethes to find out what brought Mercury here. Epimetus complied with her request, but Mercury did not answer his question and only asked permission to leave the chest for safekeeping in their house, explaining that he was too tired to deliver it to its destination today, and promised to pick up the box soon. This permission was given to him. With a sigh of relief, Mercury put the chest in a corner and left, refusing the hospitable hosts' offer to rest and have a snack.

But before he could leave the threshold, Pandora wanted to look at the contents of the mysterious box. Epimetes, surprised and shocked by his wife’s desire, declared that it was indecent to look into other people’s things. And then for the first time he saw discontent on his beloved’s beautiful face. Epimetus hastened to call her into the fresh air, where their friends were having fun and playing, but for the first time Pandora rejected his proposal. Upset and discouraged, Epimet left the house alone, hoping that she would soon join him and try to make amends with her caresses.

Left alone with the mysterious chest, Pandora was burning with curiosity. She carefully approached him and began to look at him with interest. It was made of dark wood, and a head was carved on the lid, so skillfully that Pandora thought she was smiling and encouraging her. The box was tied with a shiny gold cord, which was tied in an intricate knot on the lid. Pandora, proud of her skillful fingers, had no doubt that she would be able to untie it, and thought that there would be nothing wrong if she just loosened the knot a little without looking under the lid. And she got to work. But no matter how hard she tried to loosen the knot, she couldn’t. Again and again she heard the laughter of Epimetus and his friends playing on the lawn. They called her to come out and join them, but she did not want to leave the chest. And so, when Pandora wanted in despair to give up all attempts to untie the knot, it suddenly gave way under her trembling fingers, and the golden cord fell to the floor.

From the box, sounds like whispers came to Pandora's ear. After she untied the knot, they became louder, and she, holding her breath, put her ear to the lid, wanting to make sure that these sounds were really coming from there. It’s easy to imagine her surprise when she heard the words spoken in a plaintive voice: “Pandora, dear Pandora! Have pity on us, release us from this dark prison! Open the lid, we beg you, open it!”

Pandora's heart beat so fast and loud that its beats momentarily drowned out all other sounds. To open the box or not to open it? Then familiar footsteps reached her ears. It was Epimetus. She knew he was coming to force her to leave the house. But then she won't be able to find out who is in the chest. And she hastily opened its lid to have time to take a look at what was there.

The insidious Jupiter put all the diseases, troubles, vices and crimes into the chest, and as soon as the lid of the chest was slightly opened, they flew out and, under the guise of small creatures with brown wings, very similar to moths, began to circle around Epimetus, who entered the house, and around Pandora, biting and stinging them mercilessly. Then they flew out through the open windows and door and attacked Epimetus's friends, and their joyful cries immediately gave way to pitiful groans.

Before this, Epimetus and Pandora had never experienced pain or anger, but as soon as the winged evil spirits bit them, they began to cry and - alas! — for the first time in my life we ​​quarreled. Epimetus began to bitterly reproach his wife for her recklessness, but in the midst of his reproaches he suddenly heard a plaintive voice crying out for freedom. The voice came from the chest, the lid of which Pandora slammed shut as soon as she felt the first twinges of pain. “Open, open, I will heal your wounds! Please let me out of here,” the voice begged.

The unhappy spouses looked questioningly at each other and listened again. A plaintive voice again reached their ears, and Epimetus ordered his wife to open the lid and let out the one who asked to be free, adding that she had brought so much evil with her intolerable curiosity that there would be no more, and that in the chest there must be There is some kind spirit sitting there who can help them.

And Pandora did a good deed by opening the box a second time, for the gods, filled with pity for man, hid one good creature among the spirits of evil, Nadezhda, who began to heal the wounds inflicted by those who were sitting in the chest with her.

Fluttering easily in her snow-white robes, Nadezhda touched the bitten places on the bodies of Pandora and Epimetus, and the pain immediately subsided. After that, she quickly flew out the open window and began healing other victims of evil spirits, instilling cheerfulness in them.

So, according to the beliefs of the ancients, evil appeared in the world, bringing with it unbearable suffering, but hope always follows on its heels, helping to suffering people and promising them a happy future.
Since then, people have forgotten many gods, but they have always revered Nadezhda.

Pandora's Box

The wise seer Prometheus had a titan brother named Epimetheus, which translated from Greek means “he who thinks later.”

He was, as they say, strong in hindsight. So Zeus decided to make him an instrument of revenge against Prometheus and the people under his charge.

The Thunderer ordered the blacksmith Hephaestus to mix water with earth and fashion a lovely girl. Many gods took part in the creation of this creature - the first woman among mortals. Athena, along with the Charites, dressed her in a sparkling silver dress and placed a gold necklace around her neck. Aphrodite gave a seductive smile and a gentle voice. And Hermes put a lying soul in her chest, and flattering speeches in her mouth. They called the “newborn” Pandora—“gifted by the gods.” And they sent Hermes to take this unearthly miracle to the naive and gullible Epimetheus.

Long ago and more than once, Prometheus warned his brother: “Do not accept gifts from Zeus.” But Pandora was so beautiful and seductive that Epimetheus could not resist and took the girl as his wife.

A mistress appeared in the house and began poking her nose everywhere. What attracted her most was a vessel with a heavy lid, sent by the gods along with her with a strict prohibition: “Do not open it!” But it is impossible to curb women's curiosity. Choosing a moment when no one saw her, Pandora opened the lid. The troubles hidden in the vessel escaped from captivity - wars, diseases, vices - and quickly spread among people. Only Nadezhda did not have time to jump out of the vessel before Pandora slammed the lid...

Thus evil and adversity came to earth. Day and night they approach people with silent steps and, taking possession of their feelings, ruin their lives.

To this day, it is believed that excessive curiosity is one of the destructive vices that leads to troubles and misfortunes. Speaking about it, even today they remember the “Pandora’s vessel”. True, we often say it’s Pandora’s box.

PANDORA'S BOX

Titan Prometheus did a lot useful to people. He brought them fire, knowledge, taught them many crafts, and life on earth was transformed, people became happier. Having learned about this, the thunderer Zeus severely punished Prometheus. He made him suffer and suffer for several centuries. And then, having learned his secret and forgiven him, he still could not help but take revenge on people and sent ineradicable evil to the earth.

The Thunderer has developed an insidious plan. He called the gods to him. The blacksmith Hephaestus, a friend of Prometheus, was given the task of mixing water and earth and fashioning from this mixture a girl who would be irresistibly beautiful and whose appearance would resemble real goddesses. When she is ready, she should be given strength and a charming voice. Then he ordered his daughter Pallas Athena to weave extraordinary clothes for her, just like those worn by goddesses. Then Zeus asked Aphrodite to teach the girl all kinds of love wisdom, and ordered Hermes to endow her with a cunning mind.

And the gods began to carry out these commands. Hephaestus made from earth and water beautiful girl. The gods together breathed life into her. Athena, with her charites, dressed the girl up, made her like the beautiful goddesses, Hermes taught her to speak intelligently and be curious, and Aphrodite taught her how to seduce men. And the gods called the girl made from water and earth Pandora, which meant “endowed with all gifts.” According to Zeus, Pandora was supposed to bring misfortune to people.

When everything was ready, Zeus ordered Pandora to be lowered to earth and taken to Prometheus’s brother, Epimetheus, who, unlike his wise brother, was not distinguished by his far-sighted mind. Prometheus warned him more than once to be careful and under no circumstances accept gifts from Zeus. But, seeing Pandora, Epimetheus quickly forgot all the orders of his older brother.

Pandora played the role of an innocent girl in front of him and confused him with her sweet speeches. Epimetheus could not take his eyes off Pandora. The girl was like a goddess, she was wearing expensive clothes, she spoke intelligently, and Epimetheus completely lost his head, he asked her to become his wife. The girl immediately agreed and began to manage his house.

Pandora was very curious; Hermes specially endowed her with this quality. In her husband's house, she examined every nook and cranny and in the basement discovered a strange box covered with a heavy lid. She was overcome by a desire to find out what her husband kept in it. She asked Epimetheus, but he didn't know. He only said that you shouldn’t open it, because big trouble could happen. He couldn’t explain which one, but he also forbade Pandora to open it.

Pandora's curiosity flared up even more, and she began to wait for the right moment. When Epimetheus left the house, she went down to the basement where the box stood and lifted its heavy lid. And immediately various disasters and misfortunes, which Zeus had imprisoned there, flew out of the box. Only Nadezhda remained at the bottom. She also wanted to fly out after the disasters, but the frightened Pandora slammed the lid, and Nadezhda remained at the bottom.

Neither Pandora nor Epimetheus knew that all these were the machinations of Zeus, who wanted to punish happy people. The evil disasters, sufferings, and diseases that flew out of the box immediately spread throughout the earth. The water was also filled with evil.

People used to live happily, without knowing evil, hard work and destructive diseases. Now illnesses and disasters began to come to people as uninvited and silent guests day and night. The prudent Zeus deprived them of the power of speech. So the thunder god took revenge on both Prometheus and the people made happy by him.

The plot and its development

In subsequent tradition

A white sheep was sacrificed to her.

The protagonist of Sophocles's satyr drama "Pandora, or the Hammers" and Nikofon's comedy "Pandora".

Notes

Links

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

• Lizard-hipped dinosaurs
• Lizards

See what "Pandora's Box" is in other dictionaries:

PANDORA'S BOX- “PANDORA’S BOX” (Die Buchse von Pandora), Germany, 1928, 120 min. Drama based on the plays of F. Wedekind Opinions about this film by the great German director Georg Wilhelm Pabst were radically divided. Most domestic historians... ... Encyclopedia of Cinema

Pandora's Box- From the poem “Works and Days” by the ancient Greek poet Hesiod (VIII-VII centuries BC). It contains the myth of Pandora (from Greek: “gifted by all”), a beautiful woman whom Zeus sent to earth to punish Prometheus, who stole fire from... Dictionary of popular words and expressions

Pandora's Box- noun, number of synonyms: 1 source of disasters (1) ASIS Dictionary of Synonyms. V.N. Trishin. 2013… Synonym dictionary

Pandora's Box- In Greek mythology, Pandora is the first woman created by the god of fire, Supreme Hephaestus. God Zeus gave her a box in which all human misfortunes were contained. Out of curiosity, Pandora opened the box, and all the troubles flew out of it and... ... Historical reference book of Russian Marxist

Pandora's Box- Book The source of misfortune, disaster. If Pandora's box with all the bad things is thrown at you, you won't be able to escape from everyone (Leskov. Laughter and grief). The year 1938, which in eleven months managed to cause a lot of troubles and misfortunes, was already just before... ... Phrasebook Russian literary language

Pandora's Box- Pandora's Box (filled with disasters). Wed. (A lie) one time... can be refuted, but if, according to all the rules of a siege, entire battalions, entire regiments are sent against you at once, a Pandora’s box with all sorts of nasty things will be thrown over you... ... Michelson's Large Explanatory and Phraseological Dictionary (original spelling)

Pandora's Box- m. The source of all disasters. Ephraim's explanatory dictionary. T. F. Efremova. 2000... Modern Dictionary Russian language Efremova

Pandora's Box- a cave on the left bank of the river. White Iyus, in Kuznetsk Alatau (Khakassia). Length approx. 18 km, depth more than 180 m. The name is associated with the surprise of the discovery of the cave in the studied area and its mystery. A labyrinth-type cave in limestone... ... Geographical encyclopedia

Pandora's Box- Book The source of all kinds of disasters, misfortunes, troubles. /i> An expression from Hesiod’s poem (8th–7th centuries BC) “Works and Days,” which uses mythological motifs. BMS 1998, 653–654 ... Big dictionary Russian sayings

Pandora's Box- wing. sl. An expression that means: the source of misfortune, great disasters; arose from the poem “Works and Days” by the Greek poet Hesiod, which tells that people once lived without knowing any misfortunes, illnesses or old age, until Prometheus... ... Universal additional practical explanatory dictionary by I. Mostitsky

Pandora's Box (ancient Greek myth)

After Prometheus brought fire to people from the forge of Hephaestus and taught them various crafts, people worked and their lives became happier. And people themselves have become better, kinder and more attentive to each other. After all, they now had a lot of everything, and if anything was missing, they could do it all themselves. The great Thunderer did not like this, and he decided to test people again and sent Evil to them on earth. And so that people would not understand that this was Evil, it had to come to them in the form of a beautiful girl.

Zeus called his son, the god Hephaestus, and ordered him to mix earth with water and make a girl of extraordinary beauty. Pallas Athena wove a wonderful robe for her from silver threads and placed a golden crown on her head. Aphrodite gave the girl an irresistible charm, and Hermes put a deceitful and cunning soul into her chest.
They named the girl Pandora, which meant “endowed with all the gods.” And this really was so, because she received gifts from all the gods.
When the girl was ready, Zeus ordered Hermes to take her to the house of Epimetheus, the brother of Prometheus. Prometheus always warned his foolish brother not to accept any gifts from the cunning Zeus. He knew that these gifts could only bring disasters and hardships to people. But Epimethius did not listen to the wise advice of his brother, and besides everything, the girl was so beautiful that he gladly accepted her and took Pandora as his wife.
Epimetheus soon became convinced that this time his wise brother was right. Together with Pandora, a large vessel appeared in the house of Epimetheus. It stood in a dark corner for a long time, and no one ever opened it. Everyone knew from somewhere that if the vessel was opened, great disaster would fall on the earth. So the vessel stood in a secluded place, and no one even dared to think about coming close to it. But one day the curious and cunning Pandora, languishing with curiosity, slowly made her way to the vessel.
“I won’t open it,” she thought, “but I’ll just open the lid a little and look inside to see what lies there.”
And she slightly opened the vessel. But this crack was enough for all the evil, all human vices and misfortunes, illnesses and hardships that were contained in the vessel to fly out of it.
Frightened Pandora slammed the lid, but it was too late. All human vices and misfortunes managed to scatter across the earth, and at the very bottom of the vessel only hope remained. So now people were deprived of even a small hope for a better life.
Again evil settled on the earth, people suffered from various disasters that befell them one after another. New diseases appeared, they could no longer be healed by the medicines that Prometheus gave to people.

Many people know the term “Pandora’s box”, the meaning of which goes back to legends Ancient Greece. This is a very interesting myth with deep semantic meaning. The ancients believed that curiosity was one of the main vices. They said about a person who sticks his nose into other people's business that he is trying to open Pandora's box.

...It all started with the fact that the god Prometheus gave people fire, saving them from the cold and darkness of the night. was angry at this action. By order of the Supreme Olympian, Prometheus was chained to a rock. Every day an eagle flew in and pecked out Prometheus’s liver, but overnight it was restored again.

The wrath of Zeus fell not only on Prometheus, but also on people. Having received fire, the inhabitants of the earth gained independence from the gods and stopped worshiping them. To punish disobedient people, Zeus the Thunderer came up with an insidious plan...

Pandora's Box (myth)

Zeus ordered the creation of a young girl, beautiful and very curious. Many Olympian gods took part in its creation. Hephaestus mixed earth and water to fashion a body for her. Hermes breathed the soul into the girl, and Aphrodite gave her a seductive smile. Athena prepared a sparkling silver outfit for the first woman among mortals.

The girl received the name “Pandora,” which can be translated as “possessing all gifts.” The gods decided to give it to Epimetheus, the brother of Prometheus. Epimetheus knew that he should not take gifts from Zeus, but he was fascinated by the manners and appearance of the young woman. Contrary to the advice of his brother, Epimetheus decided to take the girl as his wife.

Pandora's box has opened

A curious woman explored every corner of her husband's house. One day she came across a strange box made of dark wood that stood in the basement, near the farthest wall.

The box was tied with a silk gold cord. Pandora wanted to know from her husband what was in the box. However, Epimetheus said that under no circumstances should it be opened.

After waiting for her husband to leave the house, the woman pulled the lace and heard voices calling to her from the box. They opened the lid, and all kinds of diseases, misfortunes and troubles immediately flew out of it. Pandora desperately tried to slam the lid, but when she succeeded, only one creature with a broken wing remained inside the box.

The emergence of hope

Troubles and diseases spread among people, and Pandora and Epimetheus learned for the first time what fear and pain were. In a moment of despair, they heard the faint voice of the creature that remained locked in the box. The creature asked to be released and assured that it could heal any wounds. Considering that things couldn’t get any worse, Epimetheus decided to open the box.

The creature sitting at the bottom was hope. She healed pain and corrected all troubles. And now, from now on, behind every misfortune, behind every evil, hope always appears. But people should not expect it too quickly; sometimes hope is delayed by a broken wing.