Pandora

In Greek, the name “Pandora” means all-gifted or all-endowed. According to the Greek myth, Pandora unlocked a box that contained all the “evils of the world” such as poverty, illness, jealousy, and greed. Only hope was left. Poets, dramatists, artists, and sculptors made Pandora their subject and the stories about Pandora have varied throughout the ages.

Excerpt from Thomas Bulfinch’s The golden age of myth and legend (1993, Wordsworth Reference Edition).

“The first woman was named Pandora (All-gifted). She was made in heaven, every god contributing something to perfect her. Venus gave her beauty, Mercury persuasion, Apollo music, etc. Thus equipped, she was conveyed to earth, and presented to Epimetheus, who gladly accepted her, though cautioned his brother to beware of Jupiter and his gifts. Epimetheus had in  his house a jar, in which were kept certain noxious articles, for which, in fitting man for his new abode, he had had no occasion. Pandora was seized with an eager curiosity to know what the jar contained; and one day she slipped off the cover and looking in. Forthwith there came a multitude of plagues for hapless man—such as gout, rheumatism, and colic for his body, and envy, spite, and revenge for his mind—and scattered themselves far and wide. Pandora hastened to replace the lid! One thing only excepted, which lay at the bottom, and that was hope. So we see at this day, whatever evils are abroad, hope never entirely leaves us; and while we have that, no amount of other ills can make us completely wretched.” (Excerpt from Thomas  Bulfinch’s The golden age of myth and legend, Wordsworth Reference edition, 1993, p. 16).

For more information, please open the link below:

https://www.greeka.com/greece-myths/pandora/

For a re-appraisal of the Greek myths from a post-modern perspective, Haynes retells the stories the stories of Pandora, Medea, Penelope, and other overlooked women in the Greek myths.

For more information, please open the link below:

https://www.greeka.com/greece-myths/pandora/

Excerpt from the myth of Pandora  (from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s (1851) The Wonder Book (Illustrated by Walter Crane). Published in 1883/1884 by Houghton Mifflin):

“As Pandora raised the lid, the cottage grew very dark and dismal; for the black cloud had now swept quite over the sun, and seemed to have buried it alive. There had, for a little while past, been a low growling and muttering, which all at once broke into a heavy peal of thunder. But Pandora, heeding nothing of all this, lifted the lid nearly upright, and looked inside. It seemed as if a sudden swarm of winged creatures brushed past her, taking flight out of the box, while, at the same instant, she heard the voice of Epimetheus, with a lamentable tone, as if he were in pain.” (Hawthorne, p.92).

Now, if you wish to know what these ugly things might be, which had made their escape out of the box, I must tell you that they were the whole family of earthly Troubles. There were evil Passions; there were a great many species of Cares; there were more than a hundred and fifty Sorrows; there were Diseases, in a vast number of miserable and painful shapes; there were more kinds of Naughtiness than it would be of any use to talk about. In short, everything that has since afflicted the souls and bodies of mankind had been shut up in the mysterious box,and given to Epimetheus and Pandora to be kept safely, in order that the happy children of the world might never be molested by them. Had they been faithful to their trust, all would have gone well. No grown person would ever have been sad, nor any child have had cause to shed a single tear, from that hour until this moment. (Hawthorne, pp. 92-93)

A Wonder Book for Girls and Boys by Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) and Illustrated  by Walter Crane (1845-1915).

To read the complete story and others please open the Project Gutenberg ebook of The Wonder Book  below:

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/32242/32242-h/32242-h.htm

For the complete works of Nathaniel Hawthorne, please access the Project Gutenberg link below:

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/59280/59280-h/59280-h.htm

Daedalus and Icarus (Excerpt from Words from the Myths by Isaac Asimov):

“To get away from the island of Crete without being captured by the navy, Daedalus wuld have to escape by air.

Consequently, the clever Daedalus build wings out of bird’s feathers which he attached to a light frame by means of wax. He made a pair for himself and another for [his son] Icarus. Attaching them to their arm, they rose into the air and flew away.

Daedalus had warned Icarus not to fly too high but Icarus, overcome with the joy of lfing and the feeling of power it gave him, could not resist the impulse to show this power by flying higher and higher. (That was hubris). In doing this, Icarus met nemesis at once, for he flew too near the sun. Its heat melted the wax that help the feathers, the wings fell apart, and Icarus tumbled into the section of the sea just off the southwest coast of modern Turkey. This is still called the “Icarian Sea.” ” (Asimov, 1960, p. 93).

Complete Source: Asimov, I. (1961/1969). Words from the myths. Signet/New American Library.

To read more about Isaac Asimov (1920-1992) and his major contributions to Science Fiction, please open the link below:

The Trojan Horse

The Trojan Horse was briefly mentioned in the Odyssey (Book IV).  Supposedly, the Greeks used the Trojan Horse to win the war and seize Troy. The wooden horse hid the warriors, including Ulysses.  The Greeks appeared to sail home in retreat. The Trojans thought that they had won the war and pulled the horse toward their city as a sign of their defeat of the Greeks. At night, the warriors got out of the horse and destroyed the city of Troy, thus ending the war. Ulysses’ adventures and his long journey back home to Ithaca take place after the Trojan war. Aphrodite helps Helen escape from Troy; she returns home and is reunited with her first husband Menelaus.

 In Samuel Butler’s translation of The Iliad, Homer describes the first circles as follows:       

”He wrought the earth, the heavens, and the sea; the moon also at her full and the untiring sun, with all the signs that glorify the face of heaven—the Pleiads, the Hyads, huge Orion, and the Bear” (Book XVIII). The next circle of the shield depicts two cities. The first is at peace, showing ”weddings and wedding-feasts” as well as men ”wrangling about the blood-money for a man who had been killed.” The other city is at war, and it depicts two armies ”in gleaming armour, and they were divided whether to sack it, or to spare it and accept the half of what it contained.” (Retrieved from John Butler’s translation of Homer’s The Iliad. Project Gutenberg ebook. https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/2199/pg2199-images.html).

An Example of Ekphrasis : Homer’s Vivid Description of the Shield of Achilles:

Auden questions the mechanization and brutality of war in his poem. He references Homer’s The Iliad. Achilles’ mother -the sea goddess Thesis—asks Hephaestus (Vulcan) to forge an invincible shield to protect her son in battle. Achilles’ shield includes beautiful representations of peace, work, leisure, and war. Auden re-images the way the shield would look today if the poem were re-written.He explore the ethics and complexities of war. War has become impersonal, mechanized, and destructive. Auden specifically references Book 18 (lines 478-608) from Homer’ s  The Iliad in his poem. The detailed imagery is open to numerous interpretations. You can compare the lines in Homer’s epic poem with Auden’s poem and varied artistic depictions of the shield and the mythic characters associated with it.

For Homer’s The Iliad translated by Alexander Pope, please access the Project Gutenberg ebook link below.

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/6130/6130-h/6130-h.htm