Both the stories of Pandora and Eve attempt to probe the origins of evil and explain why man must endure suffering and death. Many cultures have grappled with these ideas and it is striking that the biblical explanation of evil is so comparable to that in classical mythology. Whether Eve or Pandora came first is irrelevant, historically these women have been viewed as the downfall of mankind.
Max Müller, a philologist who studied language written in historical sources, is generally regarded as the founder of comparative mythology, something that has become somewhat more widely explored since the age of European Imperialism[1]. He concluded that before civilization took hold in the ancient world, primitive men used myth as a vessel to explain their surroundings and particular circumstances. He believed that, over time as the population increased and man voyaged further to new parts of the world, different languages and customs developed. Müller considered different versions of myths to be the result of the language barrier between newly emerged cultures.
Particular attention has been paid to both the Greco-Roman and Judeo-Christian accounts of creation myths. Each should be explored to determine whether the idea, women being responsible for the fall of mankind, could just be the result of sexist storytellers, after all both Eve and Pandora were created after men, this reinforces the male dominance of society whilst also depicting these women as something almost alien. There had never before been anything like a mortal woman seen by mankind, this new creation was both weird and wonderful, something to be wary of, yet also something extraordinarily intriguing.
Man originally existed peacefully without women and one can draw a comparison between Eden and the Golden Age of man. Both were a utopia for mankind to live freely without toil. They were the tranquil ideal of a world where nothing could ail you and men could live comfortably alongside one other.
The book of Genesis depicts the creation of the first woman, Eve, being forged from the rib of Adam; “So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon man, and he slept; then he took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said, ‘This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; this one shall be called Woman, for out of Man this one was taken'"[2].
Later, Eve is tempted by the Serpent to eat the forbidden fruit of the tree; “Your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil” [3], and subsequently she and Adam are cast out of Eden.
The Serpent in this story takes on the role of a trickster, not unfamiliar to the character of Prometheus from Hesiod’s work, where we see an almighty god punish mankind for a non-human character’s interference. Not only this but a comparison can also be drawn between the punishments of the Serpent and of Prometheus, for each were mutilated by a mighty god. Prometheus was tied to a rock and doomed to have his liver pecked out by an eagle and the Serpent was condemned to lose his legs and have to slither on his belly.
Although the Serpent tempted Eve, it was God who put the forbidden tree in Eden in the first place. God’s human creations had an inquisitive nature, as this was how he made them, so does this mean that the tree and the trickster were all a test of will power for Adam and Eve? Did God want them to fail from the beginning?
This idea is also very comparable with Hesiod’s Theogony. One can interpret Zeus’ actions in such a way that makes it seem like he wanted to punish humans, but just needed a reason to do so. “Zeus, whose wisdom is everlasting, saw and failed not to perceive the trick, and in his heart he thought mischief against mortal men which also was to be fulfilled”[4]. Zeus could see the trick that cunning Prometheus was carrying out, yet he decided to let things continue. The almighty and omnipotent power of Zeus is emphasised by Hesiod’s repetitive use of language; “Zeus, whose wisdom is everlasting”, once again close by in the text. Zeus really is wise and powerful, but by pretending not to see the trick he eventually allows it to play out to his advantage.
Figure 1
In each myth the humans display rather hubristic behaviour as they are tempted by the offer of their eyes being opened so that they can see as the gods do, or they are tempted by fire to live like the gods. As I have previously said, humans were built with a questioning nature; therefore can they really be to blame for these actions? The concept of discussing a creation myth is, after all, proof of their inquisitive natures. Regardless of the intentions behind Pandora’s creation, she was never specifically told not to open the box of evils, unlike Eve who explicitly disobeyed an order, and ate the forbidden fruit. It is my opinion that Pandora may have been wrongly accused as the reason for the ‘downfall of mankind’. Can she really be blamed for her curiosity?
The nature of each religion is highlighted in the way Pandora and Eve are created. Pandora is a product of many gods each bestowing a different characteristic upon her. Some of these are seen as a blessing whereas others are a curse. Eve however was created by one god, whose sole intention was for Eve to be a helper and companion for Adam, even though she later turns out to be something of a curse by eating the forbidden fruit and tempting Adam to do the same.
The myths contained in the Theogony, Works and Days, and Genesis are thematically intertwined, all attempting an explanation for the root of evil in our world, why humans must suffer and essentially what roles both sexes must play. These myths primarily allow one to question the actions of the gods and ask whether their creations were destined to fail from the beginning.
References
[1] Caspo, E. (2005), ‘Comparative Approaches’, in Theories of Mythology, England: Blackwell Publishing, P. 10.
[2] ‘Genesis: book 2’ in The Bible: King James Version, Internet WWW page at URL: http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/k/kjv/kjv-idx?type=DIV1&byte=1477, (Accessed 27.1.11).
[3] ‘Genesis: book 3’ in The Bible: King James Version, Internet WWW page at URL: http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/k/kjv/kjv-idx?type=DIV1&byte=1477, (Accessed 27.1.11).
[4] Hesiod, Translated by L. M. West, (2008) ‘Theogony’ in Theogony and Works and Days, New York: Oxford World’s Classics, P. 19.
Bibliography
Caspo, E. Theories of Mythology, England: Blackwell Publishing, 2005.
Dougherty, C. Prometheus, London and New York: Routledge Publishing, 2006.
Hesiod, Theogony and Works and Days, Translated by L. M. West, New York: Oxford World’s Classics, 2008.
Morales, H. Classical Mythology, New York: Oxford University Press Inc 2007.
The Bible: King James Version, (No Date), The Book of Genesis, Internet WWW page at URL: http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/k/kjv/kjv-idx?type=DIV1&byte=1477, (Accessed 27.1.11).
Illustrations
Figure 1: Zeus. This image can be seen to represent the almighty power of Zeus.
Illustrations
Figure 1: Zeus. This image can be seen to represent the almighty power of Zeus.
What is actually the advantage Zeus allegedly gains from pretending not to see the trick?
ReplyDeleteAny observer of the scene, be he divine or mortal, would likely perceive Zeus as outwitted, unrestrained and malicious. No wonder that he can restore his power position only by resorting to brute force.