CLA219H1 Lecture Notes - Ruby Sparks, Semonides Of Amorgos, Misogyny
Document Summary
Pandora is the bringer of all evil into the world and the first woman in the world. Woman was created as revenge (and punishment) for prometheus stealing fire from. Pandora is given to epimetheus (brother of prometheus) who only has the after sight to realize it was a mistake to take her. Prometheus is punished by being tied to a rock and having his liver eaten out by an eagle every day. Pandora means "all gifts" could be because she was given a gift from each of the gods as she was created or because she released all the evils into the world. The context of the myth is the works and days (hesiod), which explains why life is hard and why mankind has to work and why there is disease. The jar is symbolic of the womb, the storage in which evil is kept.