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In Greek mythology, Pandora's box is the box carried by Pandora that contained all the evils of mankind — greed, vanity, slander, lies, envy, pining — and hope.

Etymology of "box"

The original Greek word used was pithos which is a large jar.

The mistranslation of pithos as "box" is usually attributed to the 16th century humanist Erasmus of Rotterdam when he translated Hesiod's tale of Pandora into Latin. Hesiod's pithos refers to a storage jar for oil or grain. Erasmus, however, translated pithos into the Latin word pyxis, meaning "box". The phrase "Pandora's box" has endured ever since. This misconception was futher backed by Dante Gabriel Rossetti's painting 'Pandora'.

• A pithos from Crete, ca. 675 BC. Louvre
• An Attic pyxis, 440-430 BC. British Museum

Opening of the box

After Prometheus' theft of the secret of fire, Zeus ordered Hephaestus to create Pandora as part of the punishment for mankind. Pandora was given many seductive gifts from Aphrodite, Hermes, Charites, and Horae (according to Works and Days). Prometheus warned his brother Epimetheus to not accept any gifts from Zeus in fear of further reprisal. Epimetheus did not listen and accepted Pandora. Zeus instructed Pandora to not open the box but she was too curious and opened it. After the jar was opened all of the evils escaped but Pandora was quick enough to close the box and keep one emotion from escaping and that is Hope.

Feminist interpretations of Pandora's box

Following Jane Ellen Harrison, believe that in an earlier set of myths, Pandora was a manifestation of the Great Goddess, provider of the gifts that made life and culture possible, and that Hesiod's tale can be seen as part of a propaganda campaign to demote her from her previously revered status. The Hesiodic myth's misogyny is apparent in the transformation of a goddess who gives all good things to men into a mortal woman both intrinsically evil and who moreover introduces every conceivable evil to mankind. Modern feminist literary criticism has also focused on the gendered symbolism inherent in the myth. Pandora's jar, according to this school of thought, represents the female womb. That the jar releases a myriad evils upon the earth suggests the phallocentric culture's unease with female sexuality. For such an alternate view of Pandora, see Charlene Spretnak, Lost Goddesses of Early Greece; A Collection of Pre-Hellenic Mythology, 1977.

Pandora's box in popular culture

• In Terranigma, a creature called Yomi is released from a box, resulting in world being filled instantly with evil entities.
• In House Of The Dead 4, the opening of Pandora's Box releases the final bosses of the game.
• In God of War, the protagonist Kratos is trying to get the box in order to defeat Ares.
• In Tomb Raider: Cradle of Life, the antagonist is searching for the box in order to create unstoppable biological weapons. The box is also claimed to be the source of life.
• In City of Heroes and City of Villains, the opening of Pandora's Box in the early 20th Century is responsible for the proliferation of super-powered beings in the world.
• In Charmed: Little Box of Horrors, the box is guarded by women known as Guardians. The box moves on to the new Guardian after the previous one has been killed. The Guardian is the only one who can unleash, and return, all of the world's evil.
• In Devil May Cry 4, Pandora's box appears as a suitcase with 666 different weapon configurations. The attack "PF666: Omen" opens the suitcase, dealing large amounts of damage to enemies in front of it.
• In The Librarian (on TNT) Someone almost opens box releasing evil into world for 10,000 yrs.
• In Mulholland Drive (film), Diane Selwyn is given a key to her personal Pandora's box.
• In the video game Pandora's Box, when Pandora opens the box it releases people symbolizing mischief so you must solve puzzles to put them back in the box.
• In "Blood Ties" Vicky Nelson is repeating the same day in order to stop Pandora's Box from being opened. In the end, only Henry, a vampire and therefore not a living person, can resist opening the box.

References

1. In his notes to Hesiod's Works and Days (p.168) M.L. West has surmised that Erasmus may have confused the story of Pandora with the story found elsewhere of a box which was opened by Psyche.
2. Harrison, Prolegomena to the Study of Greek Religion, 1922:280-83, "The Making of a Goddess".
3. See, for example, Reeder 1995, 195-99 and 277-279; Zeitlin 1995 passim, but particularly the chapter on Pandora: "Signifying Difference: The Case of Hesiod's Pandora." For an extensive bibliography on women in ancient Greek myth and society, see the list of references compiled by John Porter: http://homepage.usask.ca/~jrp638/Biblios/Womenindrama.html

• Greek mythology