According to the Greeks, when the new world was created, there was a huge war between the Titans of earth, fire, water, and wind and the king of the gods, Zeus. Zeus took complete control of Earth and retired to his palace on Mount Olympus to enjoy a life of luxury as king of the gods. In doing so, he forgot about the poor humans trapped on Earth after the cataclysmic battle of the elements. Humanity was scared and cold. They lived in caves and had to endure terrible cold.
Among the giants of Olympus, there was one named Prometheus, who was no ordinary Titan. He was taught by the goddess Athena herself. She was pleased with his sharp intellect and taught him architecture, astronomy, medicine, navigation, and metallurgy. Prometheus once looked at the earth and pitied the poor victims of the battle, living in a cold and harsh land. He thought about multiple ways on how to help them improve their lives. He suddenly realized that all his knowledge would be useless if people could not enjoy basic amenities such as the ability to sleep peacefully in a warm environment without fear of wild animals.
Thus, he went to Zeus and begged him to allow humans to have fire. However, at that time the gods tended to be cruel, sometimes selfish, and a bit stubborn, Zeus was angry with Prometheus because of some tricks Prometheus had played on him in the past. To Zeus, Prometheus was more of a nuisance than anything else. He always feared that Prometheus would challenge his power and seek to taunt him.
Prometheus was initially shocked and depressed when Zeus refused to allow him to bring fire to humanity. Disappointed, he came down to earth, walked among the humans, and felt their sadness. He tried to help them to the best of his abilities, but it was not too helpful since they lived in harsh conditions, the cold was unbearable, and they had to eat raw food. At night, they feared that the wandering, wild animals would devour them if they were not careful.
Prometheus was very sad for these innocent people, and he was angry at Zeus's selfishness. However, on a fateful day, he suddenly had an idea while taking a stroll in the fields — he stumbled upon a special stick with a soft center. In the middle, was a soft, dry substance that would allow the stick to burn slowly and for a long time. He took the stick and made his way back to Mount Olympus.
There, after several days of observation, the sacred fire was finally left alone for a minute. This was more than enough for the cunning Prometheus. He swiftly jumped into the fire, put the stick in it, and then quickly retreated to his hiding place just as the guard returned to his post.
The soft, glowing center of the stick was illuminated with rapid red light. That was all he needed. Without wasting any time, Prometheus returned to Earth and went to meet the first prehistoric people he had encountered. He took everyone outside and asked them to collect bundles of wood. When everything was ready, he lit the firewood with a glow stick.
Surprised screams rang out around him. These people had never seen fire before. Prometheus explained to them what it was and how they could use it. Firstly, it would keep them warm in the cold winter, they could also cook food and protect themselves from wild animals because animals would not come close to a burning fire.
Words spread quickly and soon enough, all humans on earth thrived in more comfortable lives thanks to the gift of fire. Prometheus remained among them and taught them everything he knew about metallurgy, architecture, medicine, and navigation. Humans were no longer unprotected and scared-they had become strong and capable. They learned to dominate their environment and live comfortably.
But on top of Mount Olympus, thunder rumbled. One random day, Zeus woke up from his stupor of selfishness and indifference and decided to ask about the fate of the little humans he had last seen millennials ago. However, when he looked down at the earth, he was shocked -the scene had changed. Everywhere he looked he saw fires burning and people having fun, laughing and singing.
He roared in anger — it was one of those tempestuous roars that shook the very foundation of heaven. He realized that Prometheus had finally challenged him. Not only that, but he knew no other god would dare do that and hence to prove who was the most powerful one amongst the gods, he decided to punish Prometheus for defying his orders.
The punishment that Zeus gave Prometheus for daring to bring fire to humans was truly terrible — he tied Prometheus to a rock in the Caucasus and had his liver eaten by an eagle, and every night his liver would grow back, meaning that he had to endure the punishment over and over again; His punishment is forever. Although Prometheus's punishment was cruel, Zeus was not done yet — He also wanted to punish humanity.
To do this, he ordered Hephaestus to create a beautiful woman from his forge. Hephaestus was the blacksmith of the Olympian gods. He had divine powers like the gods, and it is believed that he was the one who later taught many skills to humanity.
Hephaestus was a tad bit hesitant, but had no other choice than to obey Zeus, despite not knowing much about his plans. So, he made a very beautiful statue of a woman in his divine workshop, a place where he would make all the devices of the gods. Once the statue was completed, he brought the statue to Zeus, who gave it life and named the once-lifeless statue Pandora.
Pandora was the most beautiful woman. Zeus handed her over a sealed box and told her to not open it under any circumstances. This was all part of Zeus's cunning plan — In reality, he wanted Pandora to open the box, but knew that if he ordered her to open the box, Pandora would be suspicious. Since, Zeus was well aware of the fact that there was no greater temptation than to do what was forbidden. He was certain that at some point, Pandora would be tempted to find out what Zeus had locked in the box.
When Pandora was handed over the box, she took it, and she immediately bowed her head and obediently listened to Zeus. The latter had a plan for her. He told her that she would come to earth and become the wife of Epimetheus, the younger brother of Prometheus.
Pandora did as she was told — She came to Earth, married Epimetheus, and lived together for many years. She hid the box in the farthest corner of the house and forgot about it for a while. There was so much to do and explore in her new life that the temptation to disobey god never came to her.
But as life slowed down, the excitement of the first days died down, and it was only a matter of time before Pandora became more and more dissatisfied with life to the point that she often wished that her life was different.
It was at that moment that the thought of the forbidden box had returned to her. She wondered what Zeus had locked in there. She began to imagine that perhaps it contained the secret to change one's life for the better, or it contained a spell or elixir to brighten one's life, or it had precious gems of great power.
As time went on, she became increasingly attracted to the box that was hidden in the farthest corner of the house. Soon, she started taking out the box every day and tried to distract herself by playing with the ornate lid and rich wood, admiring the exquisite craftsmanship of its design.
And then one day, what was supposed to happen finally happened. Pandora couldn't resist the temptation anymore. She had dreamed about the box all night, and she was convinced that it contained the secrets to her happiness. She went to the corner, took out the box of its hiding spot, and then opened it with determination.
The moment she pushed the lid open, she was petrified. In the box, Zeus had locked up all the evil in the world, and by opening the box, she let pettiness, avarice, theft, impatience, envy, laziness, cowardice, and greed enter the world. Pandora was shocked to see all this evil coming out of the box. Not knowing what to do, she hastily closed the box, knowing that she had done something wrong by disobeying Zeus.
She had no idea that the only thing that could save humanity from the madness of all the escaped evil was Hope. Every day, she waited for Zeus's punishment to befall her for violating the taboo. However, Zeus did not have to punish her, for not only did she execute Zeus's plan perfectly, but along with the other humans, Pandora herself fell victim to the evil that escaped the box.
*****END*****
