Pandora and the Fall of Man

Lara Croft Tomb Raider_The Cradle of Life

So I was revisiting Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life the other day, a flick where Angelina Jolie searches for the legendary Pandora’s Box, and something tickled my brain and gave me pause. I found it interesting that both in the age of antiquity and in the minds of modern man, women are the vehicles responsible for the fall of man. Of course we all know the original sin story of Adam and Eve and the Garden of Eden and the snake and apple. It is probably the most famous of all women are the root of all evil stories. I think there is even a creation movie lost somewhere in the Hollywood archives depicting this cataclysmic moment in time.

In the Pandora myth, the story goes that Pandora was the first woman on Earth, created by Hephaestus in answer to Zeus’ command. Many talents were bestowed upon her by the gods like beauty from Aphrodite, a talent for music from Apollo, and the handy gift of persuasion from the generous Hermes. She was also possessed of a great curiosity and which god or goddess gave her that escapes me at the moment. When Prometheus stole fire from the gods, Zeus’ vengeance came in the form of Pandora. (But Prometheus did not escape unscathed. He too suffered the wrath of Zeus in his own separate punishment tailor made especially for him by Zeus himself.

Prometheus having his liver eaten out by Jacob Jordaens circa 1640

Prometheus is later rescued by Hercules himself, ultimately escaping punishment, but that is another story.) Now Zeus placed in Pandora’s keeping a jar (which over time has become a box for some reason) with strict instructions not to open it, but of course she couldn’t restrain herself and she did indeed open it, to the ruin of all. All the evils of the world came pouring out of this box once opened and despite Pandora’s efforts to reseal it, it was too late. The only thing left in the box was Hope, which I find to be ironic since hope can be the most elusive of all emotions. But I ask, if Pandora was flawed, didn’t a dude create her based on the decree of another dude? So who really was responsible for the orchestration of man’s downfall? Can you blame Frankenstein for being Frankenstein? Or does the blame really lie with the mad doctor who created him? Hello, Zeus. It seems to me that Zeus had it out for mankind from the get go. Diabolical if you ask me.

Well, at any rate I do find it interesting that women seem to be responsible for everything that has gone wrong with the world. I once had a friend back in university days who was very interested in feminine studies. She firmly believed that all these women being responsible for original sin myths and fables are the direct result of man’s fear and envy for the many gifts and talents of women. One of them being the miraculous power to give life.

Pandora by John William Waterhouse 1896

Anyhoo, a wise man once said, “When you point the finger of blame there are always three fingers pointing right back at you.” Funny how that works don’t you think? And the root of all evil question needs to be reexamined. Anyone can see that the fight started between Zeus and Prometheus , even if you refer back to Hesiod’s Theogony . BTW, is it just me who thinks Hesiod really seemed to have it out for Pandora? One can presume that Hesiod did not seem to hold women in very high esteem. In the Greek Tragedy Prometheus Bound it is deduced that Prometheus does seem to be responsible for man’s plight, but that tidbit seems to have been overlooked. Blaming Pandora seems to be much more intriguing. What’s your take on the original sin theory and the fall of man? Who do you think is at fault? Do you know any other original sin myths?

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