La boîte de Pandore: l'origine de tous les malheurs humains (Mythologie Grecque)

Hello everyone, in the previous video, we saw how in his love for human beings, the Titan Prometheus had stolen the fire of the gods to give it to humans. This gift allowed humanity to use this new power to light up, warm up, feed themselves and even forge weapons. But more importantly, this gift had opened the way to unimaginable advances allowing humanity to go beyond the limits that were imposed on them and shape their own destiny. But remember that this gift was not without consequences. To punish Prometheus and at the same time humanity for this affront, Zeus had asked the god Forgeron and Phaistos to create the very first woman and to give her life. The god Forgeron had sculpted with clay a young girl of an unparalleled sweetness and an irresistible charm, worthy of the praises of the greatest poets. Then, the king of the gods asked the other gods of Olympus to contribute to the creation of the perfect woman. He asked Athena's help to give him wisdom and the art of weaving, Aphrodite gave him beauty and elegance, Hermes gave him a cunning spirit and finally Hera offered him curiosity. This is how the very first mortal woman was created. She was given the name Pandora, meaning the present of all, a name that referred to all the gifts she had received from the gods. Once on earth, before separating from her, Hermes offered her a small box, beautiful and finely sculpted, from Zeus. But he made her promise to never open it, whatever happens. It should be noted here that the Pandora's box is a reinterpretation of the myth that came much later, because originally it was not at all a box but rather a Greek pythos, which is a kind of jar used to store food and liquids. In short, the young Pandora was then offered as a gift to the Titans and Pimethes. The Titan had been warned by his brother, promising to never accept gifts from Zeus, because 9 times out of 10, let's say he didn't really mean it. But despite this warning, a simple look at Pandora was enough for Pimethes to fall madly in love with her and marry her without thinking. Pandora had then moved in with the Titan and together they lived happily ever after. There was only one problem, she could not stop thinking about the contents of the box given to her by the king of the gods. The days passed and Pandora thought about it more and more, but each time she remembered that she had sworn never to open the box. One day, the curiosity she had inherited from Hera had pushed her to take a look inside. At the very moment she lifted the lid, every worry, every unknown evil of humanity flew away and spread throughout the world. Hatred, suffering, hunger, illness, and a myriad of other words escaped, and since then, men and women all over the world have suffered from these plagues. Zeus' plan had worked and he had finally managed to take revenge, while promising that he had humiliated her and all of humanity. But the story does not end there, Pandora at the last moment managed to close the lid and imprisoned hope in the box. It is for this reason that despite all the misfortunes of the world, we still see a better future, symbolized here by this hidden hope in Pandora's box. In Greek mythology, the opening of the box and the release of all the plagues represented not only Zeus' revenge, but also a way to try to balance the world. According to the king of Olympus, fire was such an important blessing that humanity did not deserve it. So Pandora's opening of the box was her way to restore the balance between men and gods. Originally, this story is a moral story about the consequences of human curiosity. It was also a way to explain how all the plagues that afflict humanity for so long have been created and released throughout the world. You may have noticed it, but there are also many similarities between Pandora's story and that of Eve in the Bible. Both were the first women created and both had disobeyed a supreme creator before being blamed for having destroyed paradise, at the same time causing misfortune and suffering for all humanity. There is, however, a big difference between the two. Eve was created by God to be Adam's companion, it was out of love that she was created. Pandora, however, was created by Zeus with only one goal in mind, revenge. He knew very well that the young woman was going to release all human suffering into the world. The concept of Pandora's box is now an influential part of modern popular culture. Over time, this story has been widely revised and adapted by several artists and writers. The total number of books, movies, music and video games referring to it is simply huge. In video games, for example, Pandora plays a very important role in the franchise God of War. In the story, Kratos, the hero of the franchise, seeks the young woman to use her as a key to open Pandora's box because she has the power to defeat the gods and put an end to the reign of the Olympians. Finally, when you really think about it, the myth of Pandora remains a story that transcends its ancient origins because even today it remains a unique symbol of the human condition and the disastrous consequences that can result from curiosity. And that's what ends today's video, I hope you enjoyed it. To see more like this and on many other subjects of mythology from around the world, do not hesitate to subscribe and activate notifications so as not to miss the next releases. On this, be well and see you soon.