Prometheus (whose name means 'forethought') had warned his brother Epimetheus ('afterthought') never to accept any gift from Zeus, knowing that the king of the Olympians bore a heavy grudge against him. However, Hermes took her by the hand and escorted Pandora down to earth, safely guiding her down the slope of Mount Olympus. When the Messenger god delivered her before Epimetheus, the foolish Titan was overwhelmed by her exquisite beauty - Indeed Pandora was the most beautiful woman ever created!
"Glorious Zeus feels bad for the sorrow and disgrace that has plagued your family." said trickster Hermes to the Titan. "To make up for it, and to demonstrate that there are no hard feelings toward you for your brother's folly, Zeus presents you with this gift -- This beautiful woman named Pandora, the fairest in all the world, is to become your wife."
Epimetheus, instantly forgetting his wiser brother's admonitions, eagerly accepted the lovely gift from Zeus and made her his wife. Pandora settled into their large home and took on the wifely duties, baking and spinning and tending the garden. She thought herself the happiest bride in the world as she played melodious tunes on the lyre and joyfully danced for her new husband.
But Pandora daily was tortured by curiosity. Hey, how would you like to receive a beautiful wedding present, shiny and inviting, only to be told you could never open it? Talk about torture! That's not fair!
At first she kept the golden box on the table and daily polished it so that visitors might admire its beauty. The brilliant sunlight sparkled from the precious box, beckoning her it seems, begging to be opened.
So inviting...so inviting...Hera's gift, curiosity, was like a cruel curse. Pandora wondered what the box contained. Her imagination created intriguing scenarios, for the box was so beautiful on the outside, how could it not hold exquisite treasures inside? Surely Hermes was kidding when he said never to open it, he's such a joker, thought Pandora.
"I bet Hermes really wanted me to open the box," she mused, "he's probably watching right now, waiting for me to look inside so that I can be delightfully surprised and thank him. Surely he's hidden a splendid surprise inside..."
But deep inside her, Pandora knew that her promise must not be broken. Her better sense finally overcame her ardent curiosity and she removed the box from the table and concealed it in a dusty hidden storeroom. This made matters worse - she found herself walking by the storeroom and pausing at the doorway, as if the mysterious golden box was calling to her. Sometimes she would enter the room and hold the box for a guilty moment, then rush out and lock the door. This was killing her!
Desperate, Pandora took the box and locked it inside a heavy wooden chest. She placed chains around the chest, dug a hole, and buried it in her garden. With great effort she rolled a huge boulder on top of the "grave", determined to forget all about this object of her obsession.
She couldn't sleep that night. No matter how she tried, her thoughts kept returning to the buried golden box. She put on her robe and went out to the garden. As if in a trance, Pandora found herself drawn to the boulder. She reached out and touched the stone and like magic it moved, revealing the hole. This must be a sign from Hermes!
"You must never open the box!" As she dug the earth to get to the box, the Messenger god's words rang in her mind. "Never open the box!"
Pandora wanted to obey the command of the gods, and she really wasn't wicked, but at last she could no longer contain her curiosity. Taking the little golden key from around her neck, she fitted it into the keyhole and gently opened the box. Just a tiny bit, so that she could have a little peek, you see, and then she was going to close it up again. Just a little, tiny peek...It was her wedding gift, after all...
