In Passage 1 of A Book Of Myths by Jean Lang, Pandora is portrayed as very sweet, curious, and naive. Throughout the passage, Pandora has been curious since she set foot on Earth. She thought the world was all good, but it was not until she knew the gods had placed a box in the hands of Epimetheus which held all evils. She is naive and thinks that since the gods would do no bad, why would this box be different? In Passage 2 The Masque Of Pandora by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Pandora is portrayed as guilty, worried, and scared due to her actions of opening the box. Throughout passage 2, Pandora shows her guilt and her fear following the opening of the box; this shows her remorse because of what she did and how hopeless she was. Using excerpts …show more content…
Passage 1 states “To her the gods had never given anything but good. Surely there must be more precious gifts still.” The following quote helps justify the theme as a fitting theme because Pandora allows her understanding of what the gods have done so far to justify the action of opening the box because she thinks that gods can only give nothing but good, assuming that there are gifts within the coffer (box). In Passage 2, Pandora’s actions develop the theme by showing that the theme of the passage is Together people can get over despair and find a better solution. In Passage 2, Pandora states “I am a woman; And the insurgent demon in my nature, That made me brave the oracle, revolts At pity and compassion. Let me die; What else remains for me.” Epimetheus responds by saying “Youth, hope and love: To build a new life on a ruined life, To make the future fairer than the past, and make the past appear a troubled dream.” The following quote from Passage 2 helps explain how Pandora and Epimetheus were going to move on from this mistake. It better shows that after their small conflict about who to blame, this provides a sense of hope for Pandora and Epimetheus and shows how they’re going to move on in the future and not allow this mistake to hinder their progress going
One of the most important duties a woman could perform in Archaic Greece was bearing and raising strong, healthy children that would continue her husband’s legacy. Although the narratives on Pandora and Demeter take different approaches, both strongly emphasize the significance of motherhood through these women. On Zeus’ orders, Pandora was created by all of the Olympian gods,
To this day, the story of Pandora fascinates human beings enough to survive in media and culture. However, the modern adaptations of the myth often deviate from the misogynist undertones of Hesiod’s original version. As retaliation for Prometheus stealing fire from Olympus and gifting it to humans, Zeus resolves to afflict mankind with misfortune in the form of Pandora. He instructs Hephaestus to mold a woman out of clay and water, and asks Athena and Aphrodite to give her “painful yearning and consuming obsession”, “a bitch’s mind and knavish nature” and “lies and wily pretenses” (Works and Days, 39). Pandora is given to the misguided and forgetful Epimetheus and, due to her curiosity, releases all the terrible things that trouble mankind. Only hope is left at the end, which becomes trapped in the jar when Pandora replaces the lid. Despite Hesiod’s conclusion that the story proves “there is no way to evade the purpose of Zeus” (Works and Days, 40), it is clear that Pandora taking the form of a woman with negative attributes carries its own, separate significance. Hesiod proves this in the following: “For from her [Pandora] is descended the female sex, a great affliction to mortals as they dwell with their husbands” (Theogony, 20). Hesiod believed that all women were descended from Pandora – a woman he described as being deceitful, troublesome and difficult. By
Throughout modern history the ancient Greeks and their stories have influenced our culture and way of life. Many of the ancient Greek myths are those of caution that teach us moral lessons. For example, the myth of Odysseus and the sirens, told by Homer in The Odyssey, teaches us to resist the urge to indulge in temptations. Odysseus and his crew are travelling near the island of the sirens when Odysseus plugs the ears of his crewmates with beeswax and has them tie him to the mast so that he can listen to the sirens’ song and not crash their ship onto the rocks as they pass the island. Odysseus and his crew safely pass the island of the sirens without any casualties and continue on their journey home. Author Margaret Atwood and artist John William Waterhouse both display their brilliant ideas about the myth of Odysseus and the sirens using poetry and painting. Both Ulysses and the Sirens by John William Waterhouse and “Siren Song” by Margaret Atwood use the myth of the sirens to show that during their lives, people often encounter bad temptations that can lead to their demise and should pay no attention to such temptations.
The very creation of women was set as a punishment to man because Prometheus, son of Iapetos, tried to trick Zeus into eating bones and then, with the tube of a fennel, steals fire to give to mankind. Zeus then proclaimed, "To set against the fire I shall give them an affliction in which they will all delight as they embrace their own misfortune." Out of Zeus' anger came Pandora, the first woman. Zeus ordered Hephaestus to mold women from the earth and water, Athene to dress and adorn her, Temptation to give her necklaces of gold, and Hermes to implant a bitch's mind and a thief's temper. Hesiod describes women as a "precipitous trap, more than mankind can manage." Hesiod states, "even so as a bane for mortal men has high-thundering Zeus created women, conspirators in causing difficulty." And thus the first woman was named Pandora, Allgift,-"a calamity for men who live by bread." And so Pandora and all the evils of the world, except Hope, were released into the world by a punishing Zeus. Hesiod explains how formerly the tribes of men lived "remote from ills, without harsh toil and the grievous sickness that are deadly to men." From Pandora descended the female sex, "a great affliction to mortals as they dwell with their husbands- no fit partners for accursed Poverty, but only for Plenty." An analogy is then used to compare women to drones who, according to Hesiod, feed off hard-working bees all day. Hesiod immed...
Though the varied episodes differ in terms of characters and settings, most are based on similar patterns of plot and theme. The themes that are most emphasized are forgetfulness, a willingness to risk pain for pleasure, and female temptation. When comparing the Sirens episode with much of Odysseus’ other adventures, one can observe an emergence and repetition of these themes. The most obvious comparison that can be drawn between the Sirens episode and most other adventures is the theme of forgetfulness. The same idea is repeated in Odysseus’ adventures with Calypso, Circe, and most importantly the Lotus Eaters.
He was worshipped particularly in manufacturing and crafting fields, especially in Athens. Hephaestus crafted many creations, most notable being Pandora. According to Hesiod, Zeus ordered Hephaestus to create a women irresistible to man or god. Zeus planned revenge against Prometheus, a titan who mocked Zeus. She was molded from Earth and water and once her body was ready, The Four Winds breathed life into it. She was given all of the gifts from the gods. Aphrodite gave her beauty, grace, and decisive. Hermes gave her a cunning mind and a clever tongue. Athena clothed her and gave her nimble hands. Poseidon gave her a pearl necklace that would prevent her from drowning. Apollo taught her to play the lyre and sing. Zeus gave her a foolish and mischievous deposition. Finally, Hera gave her the gift that would lead to her downfall, curiosity. Pandora was born and descended down onto earth along with a beautifully gilded box from Zeus with a warning never to open it. She married Epimetheus, Prometheus brother who warned him not to accept a gift from Zeus, as he was aware he was still mad at him. Epimetheus so enchanted by Pandora ignored his brother and married Pandora anyways. The gift of Hera’s curiosity finally got the best of Pandora and she opened the box; releasing sickness, death, turmoil, strife, jealousy, famine, and evil. Pandora was a pawn in Zeus’s game of revenge. Pandora weighed down by her actions was left with hope, the only good virtue Zeus hid in the box. From then on hope would be in every man, for when life’s evils weighed him
The power and influence of women is symbolized in Odysseus’ encounter with the dead in Hades. In the Underworld, Odysseus meets more women than men. He meets his mother and then a “grand array of women” (334). They all were “wives and daughters once of princes” (334). All of them are the legendary women who were the mothers of the greatest Greek lineages. This symbolizes how Greek civilization was founded by women; they were the ones who gave birth to the heroes. Similarly, The Odyssey is a story created by women. The plot revolves around the actions of women. Athena orchestrates all the events. The seductresses, such as Circe, the sirens, and Calypso, attempt to stop Odysseus from reaching home. The helpmeets, such as Nausicaa, Arete, and Athena, aid Odysseus in his homecoming. The wise and virtuous Penelope is the object of Odysseus’ quest. Unlike Helen who forsakes her husband, Penelope remains faithful. Unlike Clytemnestra who assassinates her husband, Penelope patiently waits for Odysseus. She becomes a model of female patience and of female intelligence. Her craftiness is the only one which can match up to Odysseus’. The Odyssey presents a wide array of women and demonstrates the influence that women have in the life of a
In Hesiod’s version, Zeus created Pandora as a punishment to man and illustrated her as an evil, deceitful and supposed curse on mankind, “Evil conspirators. And he added another evil to offset the good...she was a real pain for human beings” (Hesiod, 149-164) On the contrary women in Ovid’s tale were treated as companions who worked together for the greater good, as depicted by the myth of Pyrrha and Deucalion, “Then, side by side, they went without delay to seek the waters of Cephisus’ stream.” (Ovid, 17) Deucalion and Pyrrha are portrayed to be righteous and true devotes of the Olympian gods and hence given the responsibility of repopulating earth. Ovid demonstrates that the humans in this myth portray the role of a god, where they repopulate Earth with righteous humans, thus creating order in the universe again. He portrays their role as a vital component in this occurrence as without their diligence and morals—this act would not have been possible. Thus, establishing the human-centered concept of his
Similar to the biblical story of Adam and Eve, Eve like the many women in the Odyssey brings about pain and suffering for mankind. Contrary to the depicting of women as roots of evil, the reader sees the other traits of women that are most desirable. The roles
In “The Fish” by Elizabeth Bishop, the narrator attempts to understand the relationship between humans and nature and finds herself concluding that they are intertwined due to humans’ underlying need to take away from nature, whether through the act of poetic imagination or through the exploitation and contamination of nature. Bishop’s view of nature changes from one where it is an unknown, mysterious, and fearful presence that is antagonistic, to one that characterizes nature as being resilient when faced against harm and often victimized by people. Mary Oliver’s poem also titled “The Fish” offers a response to Bishop’s idea that people are harming nature, by providing another reason as to why people are harming nature, which is due to how people are unable to view nature as something that exists and goes beyond the purpose of serving human needs and offers a different interpretation of the relationship between man and nature. Oliver believes that nature serves as subsidence for humans, both physically and spiritually. Unlike Bishop who finds peace through understanding her role in nature’s plight and acceptance at the merging between the natural and human worlds, Oliver finds that through the literal act of consuming nature can she obtain a form of empowerment that allows her to become one with nature.
In accordance to African American writer Margaret Walker’s quote that talks about African Americans still having their African past intact despite slavery and racism, immigration indeed affected cultural ways. The interconnection of the trans-Atlantic world brought about the rise of new cultures, music and expressions that were to be held by future generations, which is now the population of African American people. This paper will research on the middle passage and the early American slavery and how African tried to resist.
...y sirens represent half-women, half-bird creatures who lived on an island. They used to sing in beautiful voices to lure sailors off their course. When Odysseus was sailing by the siren's island, he made the rest of his men plug up their ears and ties him to the mainmast. This way, he got to hear the beautiful sound of their voice without being driven to suicide. In this story the women weeping over Lautaro were compared to the sirens, and some sailors going to tie themselves to the mainmast in an attempt to mimic Odysseus. There is a contrast of these stories with the quotes from the villagers.
Prometheus tried to warn his brother to not accept any gift from the Olympians. However, when Epimetheus saw Pandora he forgot about his brothers warning. Pandora’s beauty and charm made a quick effect to the titan. Pandora arrived to Epimetheus with a box. This box was given to her by the gods and it contained evils for mankind. Instead of Pandora, being the evil punishment it was the box she carried that encased all the evil. When Pandora opens the box all the evil spirits fly out and spread evil all throughout the world. According to Harris (2008), “Other versions of Pandora myth indicate that the jar she brings with her contained not evils but blessings”. However, Hesiod version of this story Pandora lets out miseries for mankind. Thus, Hesiod illustrates Pandora as being a malevolent person that causes turmoil. This myth is a way for Hesiod to warn his fellow man against women. The gods are Hesiod’s way to say negative aspects about women that can derive from his own personal
Hesiod, a Greek Poet, describes Prometheus as a trickster because he outwitted Zeus by offering him a false sacrifice that included a choice between bones and meat. This angered Zeus so much that he decided he would not give the power of fire to the “Melian race of mortal men who live on the earth” (Hesiod, Card 545). According to Hesiod, Prometheus was able to outwit Zeus by stealing fire from Mount Olympus in a “hollow fennel stalk.” Hesiod’s telling of the myth doesn’t explain why Prometheus stole the fire but after analyzing later retellings it is evident that he did so to help the human race in their development as a civilization. Zeus made sure that both Prometheus and mankind would suffer for Prometheus’ decision to go against Zeus. For example, Zeus said, “You stole the fire and tricked me, happily, you, plague on all mankind and on yourself. They’ll pay for fire: I’ll give another gift to men, an evil thing for their delight” (Hesiod, Card 545). The “gift” that Zeus is referring to is Pandora, the first woman on Earth. Pandora unknowingly released famine, disease, and plague into the world when her curiosity got the better of her and she opened the box that Zeus gave her. Zeus also made sure to punish Prometheus directly by bounding him to a rock “with inextricable bonds and cruel chains” where an eagle would eat his immortal liver every day creating an eternal and
Firstly, the legend that both scripture have was the characteristic of woman; in Greek Mythology, Pandora was a beautiful woman made by hephaestus( Who was the son of Zeus, God of fire; The smith.) he made pandora the most beautiful mortal for Zeus ‘ secret weapon. In Zeus’ plan, he planned to let Pandora marry Epimetheus(who create the mortals and all alive things on the earth). For the dowry, he gave Pandora a sealed chest and told her never opened it. Consequently, because of her