Pandora
Carr, Karen. "Pandora," Kidipede - History for Kids. 2012.
Lesson 1 story and worksheet
When Zeus was so angry at Prometheus for giving people fire, he was also mad at the people who had tricked him into taking the wrong bag of meat. Zeus got back at the people by getting Hephaistos to make a beautiful woman, whom he named Pandora (which means all-gifts).
Zeus sent Pandora down to earth and gave her as a present to Prometheus' brother, Epimetheus. Zeus told Epimetheus that he should marry Pandora. Also, Zeus sent Pandora with a little box, with a big lock on it (Actually in ancient Greek versions of this story it is a sealedpottery vase). He said not to ever open the box, and he gave the key to Epimetheus.
Pandora opens the box
But Pandora was very curious about what was in the box. She begged Epimetheus to let her open it, but he always said no. Finally one day he fell asleep, and she stole the key (or broke the seal) and opened the box (or vase).
Oh! Out of the box flew every kind of trouble that people had never known about before: sicknesses, and worries, and crimes, and hate and envy and all sorts of bad things. The bad things all began to fly away like little bugs, all over the place. Pandora was very sorry now that she had opened the box! She tried to catch the bad things and put them back in the box but it was too late. They all flew away.
But the very last thing to fly out of the box, as Pandora sat there crying, was not as ugly as the others. In fact it was beautiful. It was Hope, which Zeus sent to keep people going when all the nasty things got them down.
1 / This is an example of an origin myth, because something originated from this story. Explain all of the things that came because of this myth and what was the cause of it all coming? In other words, what character trait did Pandora have that caused her to open the box and what are all of the things that came out of it? Use examples from the text to back up your reasoning.
2 / What is the moral of this story or theme of this piece? Use examples from the text to back up your reasoning.
3 / What do you think the author was trying to do when they were writing this story? What were they trying to teach their audience? Remember these are people that believed and worshipped Greek gods and goddesses. They believed in rituals and sacrifices. Use examples from the text to back up your reasoning.
4 / What can you infer is Zeus’s reasoning for putting that box on the earth? You will most likely need to click on Prometheusin order to get a better understanding of this question. Use examples from the text to back up your reasoning.
5 / Write a short summary of the story; make sure to focus on the main details only? Use examples from the text to back up your reasoning.
6 / What is the example of a simile that is put in this story? What impact does it have on the story? How would it affect the audience? How did it affect you? Use examples from the text to back up your reasoning.
7 / Why do you think that Zeus gave the world hope? What can you infer are his reasons behind why he would do that? If necessary, click on Zeusto help you answer this question.
8 / What can you imagine, based on this story, the world was like before Pandora’s little box? Use examples from the text to back up your reasoning.