Pandora's Box

Posted by ESC on October 07, 2000

In Reply to: Can't find "Pandora's Box" posted by Kurt on October 06, 2000

: Hi all,

: When I searched using the keyword: Pandora - I was returned with "Open Pandora's Box", however, I could not find the phrase in the list no matter how.

: Any idea?

: Thanks

"PANDORA'S BOX - A prolific source of troubles. The story comes from Greek myth; it tells their version of the creation of the first woman and how the ills of mankind resulted. To punish Prometheus, who had stolen fire from him, Zeus ordered Hephaestus, the god of the forge, to create the first mortal woman, who was irresistibly beautiful and to whom each of the gods gave a power to insure the ruin of man. Zeus sent her to Prometheus' brother, carrying a lidded vessel as a gift. He opened it, and out flew all the evils of mankind. In some versions of the story it is Pandora's doing, because she cannot contain her curiosity. And sometimes hope remains in the jar." From "Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Allusions" by Elizabeth Webber and Mike Feinsilber (Merriam-Webster, Springfield, Mass., 1999).