Part 7: Pandora's Box
When someone says, "Jim has opened Pandora's box," he or she probably means that Jim has done something that has resulted in many problems that were unexpected or were not known to exist.
Pandora is a character in ancient Greek mythology, and she is the equivalent of Eve in the Christian Old Testament. Pandora is the first-ever woman, and, just like Eve, she is blamed for all the problems that afflict humanity.
Ancient Greeks had two types of Gods, Olympian Gods and the Titans. They each had different roles, but Zeus was the king of all gods.
Prometheus was a Titan, and he created man from clay. Later, he realized that man was feeling cold; so he stole fire from heaven and brought it to him. This made Zeus angry, so he decided to punish him by giving him a woman.
Her name was Pandora, and she was beautiful, intelligent, but very curious. Before sending Pandora to man, Zeus gave her a very beautiful box and instructed her never to open it.
Life was good and blissful for man and Pandora, and they enjoyed every moment. They had everything they needed, and there were no problems such as death or disease.
However, after some time, curiosity overcame Pandora, and she decided to find out what was in the box that Zeus gave her. When she opened it, all the problems that afflict humanity came out, and they were released to the world. They included death, disease, and other ills.
Pandora tried to close the box, but it was too late. She couldn't believe her beautiful box contained such ugly and harmful things.
From then on, the phrase "opening Pandora's box" has been used to refer to actions which, although well-intended, produce harmful or damaging results.
