The expression "Pandora's box" came to us from ancient Greece, becoming the personification of sudden misfortunes and misfortunes. There is a version, supposedly the thing that the girl Pandora kept, the Greeks called otherwise. But, translating this myth, the scientist Erazim Rotterdam dubbed this subject a box in his scientific work "Proverbs." In this form, the saying has survived to the present day.
Pandora's box - what is it?
Pandora's box is a casket in which misfortunes and illnesses were made, such a severe gift was prepared for people by the Greek titan Zeus. Over time, the expression "Pandora's box" became winged, and received a double interpretation:
- Impersonation of all sorts of ills.
- An extremely curious person who, by his perseverance, can harm himself and others.
This myth was very popular with both the Greeks and the Romans, in both legends, the blame for what happened was placed on the gods and Pandora, who opened this box. Interesting and another interpretation, appeared in the 17th century, thanks to the fashion designers. To demonstrate fashionable clothes, mannequins were created, which were willingly put into the houses of the rich. These figures were called Pandora, because:
- dolls opened chests with outfits;
- misfortunes turned into the beauty of fashionable things and scattered around the world, giving women joy.
Pandora's box - a myth or a reality?
Scientists have been arguing for decades over whether Pandora's box really exists. If we take as a basis the theory that before the appearance on the Earth of Pandora with harmful luggage, mankind did not know the diseases, we can assume that it is a question of the development of the race. There are versions that Pandora's mysterious casket is:
- An ecological disaster that changed the genetics of people.
- A gift of extraterrestrial civilizations that conducted an experiment on the population of the Earth.
- The thing that destroyed the more advanced civilizations of our planet, leaving one that survived, but lost in the mutations the makings of health and the ability to command the energies.
The Legend of the Box of Pandora
The question immediately arises: why is the vessel of misfortune associated with the name of the girl, and not Zeus, who started it? This story is told by the myth about the Pandora's box, which the inhabitants of Hellas have preserved. When people got fire from the titan of Prometheus and were almost equal with the gods, the rulers of Olympus became very angry and decided to punish everyone. They created the beauty Pandora, so that she brought to Earth a box with troubles.
The name translates as "all gifted", each god has tried to endow the girl with the best qualities:
- Hephaestus sculpted a marvelous figure;
- Aphrodite endowed with beauty;
- Athena prepared the richest clothes;
- Hera gave a great mind;
- Hermes - resourcefulness and eloquence ;
- Zeus breathed a soul and irrepressible curiosity.
Why do we need Pandora's box?
Pandora's box is a myth, similar to the story of the Trojan horse, because the girl herself did not know where and why she was being sent, and even with the incomprehensible luggage that Thunderbird himself gave. Initially, the beautiful wife was offered to Prometheus, but he refused, because he was waiting for a dirty trick from the gods. Pandora fell in love with the brother of the titan, Epitem, and accepted into his house with a modest dowry. According to the version of the Romans the luggage of the bride was brought by the god Mercury himself.
What does the box of Pandora mean is a sophisticated punishment for people, which Zeus prepared. And later became the personification of what he started:
- trouble;
- diseases;
- misfortunes.
What's in the Pandora's box?
Some researchers hypothesize that the content of the gift of Zeus was wisely encrypted by the ancient tellers. The mystery of the Pandora's box has remained unsolved for many centuries, and the woes and illnesses enclosed in the vessel can be explained as:
- deadly or dangerous viruses;
- invisible to the eye seeds, poisoning the earth;
- radiation, provoking all sorts of cataclysms.
If we assume that by gods in ancient times people called aliens from other planets, it is quite realistic to admit the existence of a box with dangerous contents. The version is also supported by the fact that Zeus created the misfortunes of the dumb to sneak up to people quietly and imperceptibly. After all, viruses and radiation are also not visible to the human eye. Philosophers explain the essence of the myth in their own way, supposedly the Pandora's box was the container of the energy of evil that spread throughout the world.
Who opened the Pandora's box?
Zeus forbade Pandora to open the gift, but at the same time expected that the curious beauty could not resist the temptation. The mystery of Pandora's box quickly ceased to be so, the chosen one of the gods inquired about the contents. Myth tells that from there flew the tiny creatures that began to sting the girl. If we rely on this exposition, we can assume that in reality the beautiful woman released insects - carriers of terrible viruses. About the keys to Pandora's box legends are silent. In the poems of some Greek poets it is said that Zevs himself allegedly gave the key to the girl.
What's left in the Pandora's box?
The myth says that after the beauty opened a dangerous casket and suffered from the bites of winged creatures, she quickly closed the lid. But then someone's voice told me to open it again to heal from the wounds. This was said by Nadezhda, which Zeus gave to people in consolation. Then there were two variants of events:
- Pandora obeyed, released Nadezhda and was healed.
- The girl was afraid to open the casket again, and the Vain Hope remained forever.
What's left at the bottom of Pandora's box? According to one of the modern versions, in the vessel with the viruses there was an antidote, more like a gas. But it did not block the harm for such possible reasons:
- the substance was small;
- gas was released from the vessel too late, the carriers of the viruses had already dispersed;
- the antivenom did not affect all the victims.
In ancient times the ending of the legend about Pandora's box was interpreted as follows: no matter what suffering may fall, a person will always be supported by hope. What is in the box of Pandora, still remains a mystery. Philosophers draw their conclusions: good and evil do not arise out of nowhere, they are created by people themselves. And it depends on the decision of the person, what choice he will make, and with whom he will remain: with desperation of evil or with the hope of good.