Pandora

'Opening Pandora's box' always means trouble. But why? The origin of this expression can be found in Greek mythology, and a curious woman named Pandora.

About Pandora

In Greek Mythology, Pandora is said to have been the first woman on Earth. Pandora was created by Hephaestus from water and earth. Zeus brought her to life and the gods gave her gifts such as beauty, charm, cunning, wit, eloquence, deceit, skill, and curiosity.

Pandora was given a box and told not to open it for any reason. Zeus used Pandora and gave her to Prometheus as a wife but he refused. However, his brother Epimetheus agreed to marry her.

Of course, curiosity got the better of her and she opened it. The box contained all the evils of the world which Pandora released on mankind. When she saw what she did she immediately closed the lid, and in her haste she locked the last evil inside, hopelessness, thus giving mankind hope for their future.

To this day, the phrase to open Pandora’s box is used to describe an act of unforeseen and unpleasant consequences. The ridiculous phrase to open a box of Pandora’s may have resulted from the similar phrase to open a can of worms.

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