Comparing Pandora and Eve
Pandora was the first human woman created in Greek mythology. She was created to punish mankind for the gift of fire, given by Prometheus. Representing divinity, fire was an asset intended for the gods/goddesses. Once human men acquired this gift, the separation between the gods/goddesses and mortals was diminished. Zeus was outraged by this blurring of divine lines, and upon his order, Pandora was fashioned of “water and earthy” by Hephaestus. Athene, Hermes, and the other gods/goddesses of Mount Olympus each played a role in her formation, infusing her some of their celestial essence. Appropriately named, Pandora means “all-gifts” or “the source of all gifts”. Pandora, in her apparent perfection, was presented to Epimetheus (brother of Prometheus) as a gift, and the two wed. Pandora had with her a jar (or a box) from Zeus. According to Hesiod’s Works of Days, Pandora’s jar was filled with terrors such as misery, sorrow, evil, and disease. Pandora opens the jar, unleashes these infestations onto mankind, then slams the jar closed. The only item left in the jar was hope. Hesiod argued that even hope was a curse, implying that was merely a “false hope” that prevented mankind from accepting their impending doom. Eve was the first human woman created in Judeo-Christian-Islamic mythology. In the creation account in the second book of Genesis, Eve was created as a companion to Adam. After presenting a multitude of animals to Adam, God realizes that none are suitable companions for Adam. Finally, God takes one of Adam’s ribs while he sleeps, and with it he fashions a woman: Eve, meaning “life” or “the source of life”. Eve is exclaimed by Adam as, “bone from my bones, and flesh from my flesh”, thus completing him. Adam and Eve, now married, were to live together and maintain the garden of Eden, a beautiful garden rich with fruit trees. God instructed Adam that he may eat from any of the trees in the garden, except from the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil”. One