The Theogony of Hesiod

1	Prometheus the Forethinker had a brother who was named Epimetheus the Afterthinker.
2	(ll 270-294) And again, Ceto bare to Phoreys the fair-cheeked Graiae, sisters grey from their birth: and both deathless gods and men who walk on earth call them Graiae, Pemphredo well-clad, and saffron-robed Enyo, and the Gorgons who dwell beyond glorious Ocean in the frontier land towards Night where are the clear- voiced Hesperides, Sthenno, and Euryale, and Medusa who suffered a woeful fate: she was mortal, but the two were undying and grew not old.
3	With her lay the Dark-haired One in a soft meadow amid spring flowers.
4	He was slow-witted and scatter-brained.
5	His wise brother once sent him a message bidding him beware of the gifts that Zeus might send him.
6	And when Perseus cut off her head, there sprang forth great Chrysaor and the horse Pegasus who is so called because he was born near the springs (pegae) of Ocean; and that other, because he held a golden blade (aor) in his hands.
7	Now Pegasus flew away and left the earth, the mother of flocks, and came to the deathless gods: and he dwells in the house of Zeus and brings to wise Zeus the thunder and lightning.
8	Epimetheus heard, but he did not heed the warning; thereby he brought upon the race of men troubles and cares.
9	Zeus was wroth with men now because fire, stolen from him, had been given them;
10	But Chrysaor was joined in love to Callirrhoe, the daughter of glorious Ocean, and begot three-headed Geryones.
11	Him mighty Heracles slew in sea-girt Erythea by his shambling oxen on that day when he drove the wide-browed oxen to holy Tiryns, and had crossed the ford of Ocean and killed Orthus and Eurytion the herdsman in the dim stead out beyond glorious Ocean.
12	he was wroth with the race of Titans, too,
13	and he pondered in his heart how he might injure men, and how he might use Epimetheus, the mindless Titan, to further his plan.
14	(Iliad. 295-305) And in a hollow cave she bare another monster, irresistible, in no wise like either to mortal men or to the undying gods, even the goddess fierce Echidna who is half a nymph with glancing eyes and fair cheeks, and half again a huge snake, great and awful, with speckled skin, eating raw flesh beneath the secret parts of the holy earth.
15	And there she has a cave deep down under a hollow rock far from the deathless gods and mortal men.
16	While he pondered there was a bush on high Olympos, the mountain of the Gods.
17	Then Zeus called upon the artisan of the Gods, lame Hephæstos,
18	There, then, did the gods appoint her a glorious house to dwell in: and she keeps guard in Arima beneath the earth, grim Echidna, a nymph who dies not nor grows old all her days.
19	(Iliad. 306-332) Men say that Typhaon the terrible, outrageous and lawless, was joined in love to her, the maid with glancing eyes.
20	and he commanded him to make a being out of clay who would have the likeness of a lovely maiden.
21	With joy and pride Hephæstos worked at the task that had been given him,
22	So she conceived and brought forth fierce offspring; first she bare Orthus the hound of Geryones, and then again she bare a second, a monster not to be overcome and that may not be described, Cerberus who eats raw flesh, the brazen-voiced hound of Hades, fifty-headed, relentless and strong.
23	And again she bore a third, the evil-minded Hydra of Lerna, whom the goddess, white-armed Hera nourished, being angry beyond measure with the mighty Heracles. And her Heracles, the son of Zeus, of the house of Amphitryon, together with warlike Iolaus, destroyed with the unpitying sword through the plans of Athene the spoil-driver.
24	and he fashioned a being that had the likeness of a lovely maiden,
25	and he brought the thing of his making before the Gods and Goddesses.
26	She was the mother of Chimaera who breathed raging fire, a creature fearful, great, swift-footed and strong, who had three heads, one of a grim-eyed lion; in her hinderpart, a dragon; and in her middle, a goat, breathing forth a fearful blast of blazing fire.
27	Her did Pegasus and noble Bellerophon slay; but Echidna was subject in love to Orthus and brought forth the deadly Sphinx which destroyed the Cadmeans, and the Nemean lion, which Hera, the good wife of Zeus, brought up and made to haunt the hills of Nemea, a plague to men.
28	All strove to add a grace or a beauty to the work of Hephæstos.
29	Zeus granted that the maiden should see and feel.
30	There he preyed upon the tribes of her own people and had power over Tretus of Nemea and Apesas: yet the strength of stout Heracles overcame him.
31	(Iliad. 333-336) And Ceto was joined in love to Phorcys and bare her youngest, the awful snake who guards the apples all of gold in the secret places of the dark earth at its great bounds. This is the offspring of Ceto and Phoreys.
32	Athene dressed her in garments that were as lovely as flowers.
33	Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love, put a charm on her lips and in her eyes.
34	(Iliad. 334-345) And Tethys bare to Ocean eddying rivers, Nilus, and Alpheus, and deep-swirling Eridanus, Strymon, and Meander, and the fair stream of Ister, and Phasis, and Rhesus, and the silver eddies of Achelous, Nessus, and Rhodius, Haliacmon, and Heptaporus, Granicus, and Aesepus, and holy Simois, and Peneus, and Hermus, and Caicus fair stream, and great Sangarius, Ladon, Parthenius, Euenus, Ardescus, and divine Scamander.
35	(Iliad. 346-370) Also she brought forth a holy company of daughters who with the lord Apollo and the Rivers have youths in their keeping -- to this charge Zeus appointed them -- Peitho, and Admete, and Ianthe, and Electra, and Doris, and Prymno, and Urania divine in form, Hippo, Clymene, Rhodea, and Callirrhoe, Zeuxo and Clytie, and Idyia, and Pasithoe, Plexaura, and Galaxaura, and lovely Dione, Melobosis and Thoe and handsome Polydora, Cerceis lovely of form, and soft eyed Pluto, Perseis, Ianeira, Acaste, Xanthe, Petraea the fair, Menestho, and Europa, Metis, and Eurynome, and Telesto saffron-clad, Chryseis and Asia and charming Calypso, Eudora, and Tyche, Amphirho, and Ocyrrhoe, and Styx who is the chiefest of them all.
36	The Graces put neck. laces around her neck and set a golden crown upon her head.
37	The Hours brought her a girdle of spring flowers.
38	These are the eldest daughters that sprang from Ocean and Tethys; but there are many besides.
39	For there are three thousand neat-ankled daughters of Ocean who are dispersed far and wide, and in every place alike serve the earth and the deep waters, children who are glorious among goddesses.
40	Then the herald of the Gods gave her speech that was sweet and flowing.
41	All the Gods and Goddesses had given gifts to her, and for that reason the maiden of Hephæstos's making was called Pandora, the All-endowed.
42	And as many other rivers are there, babbling as they flow, sons of Ocean, whom queenly Tethys bare, but their names it is hard for a mortal man to tell, but people know those by which they severally dweIliad.
43	(Iliad. 371-374) And Theia was subject in love to Hyperion and bare great Helius (Sun) and clear Selene (Moon) and Eos (Dawn) who shines upon all that are on earth and upon the deathless Gods who live in the wide heaven.
44	She was lovely, the Gods knew; not beautiful as they themselves are, who have a beauty that awakens reverence rather than love,
45	but lovely as flowers and bright waters and earthly maidens are lovely, Zeus smiled to himself when he looked upon her;
46	(Iliad. 375-377) And Eurybia, bright goddess, was joined in love to Crius and bare great Astraeus, and Pallas, and Perses who also was eminent among all men in wisdom.
47	(Iliad. 378-382) And Eos bare to Astraeus the strong-hearted winds, brightening Zephyrus, and Boreas, headlong in his course, and Notus, -- a goddess mating in love with a god.
48	he called to Hermes who knew all the ways of the earth,
49	and he put her into the charge of Hermes.
50	And after these Erigenia bare the star Eosphorus (Dawn-bringer), and the gleaming stars with which heaven is crowned.
51	(Iliad. 383-403) And Styx the daughter of Ocean was joined to Pallas and bare Zelus (Emulation) and trim-ankled Nike (Victory) in the house.
52	Also he gave Hermes a great jar to take along; this jar was Pandora's dower.
53	Epimetheus lived in a deep-sunken valley.
54	Also she brought forth Cratos (Strength) and Bia (Force), wonderful children.
55	Now one day, as he was sitting on a fallen pillar in the ruined palace that was now forsaken by the rest of the Titans, he saw a pair coming towards him.
56	One had wings, and he knew him to be Hermes, the messenger of the Gods.
57	The other was a maiden.
58	Epimetheus marvelled at the crown upon her head and at her lovely garments.
59	There was a glint of gold all around her.
60	He rose from where he sat upon the broken pillar and he stood to watch the pair.
61	Hermes, he saw, was carrying by its handle a great jar.
62	In wonder and delight, Epimetheus looked upon the maiden.
63	He had seen no lovely thing for ages.
64	Wonderful, indeed, was this Golden Maid, and as she came near him the charm that was on her lips and in her eyes came to the Earth-born One, and he smiled with more and more delight.
65	Hermes came and stood before him.
66	He also smiled, but his smile had something baleful in it.
67	He put the hands of the Golden Maid into the great soft hand of the Titan, and he said, "O Epimetheus, Father Zeus would be reconciled with thee,
68	and as a token of his good will he sends thee this lovely Goddess to be thy companion."
69	Oh, very foolish was Epimetheus the Earth-born One!
70	As he looked upon the Golden Maid who was sent by Zeus he lost memory of the wars that Zeus had made upon the Titans and the elder Gods;
71	he lost the memory of his brother chained to the highest, blackest peak of Caucasus;
72	he lost memory of the warning that his brother, the wisest of all beings, had sent him.
73	He took the hands of Pandora, and he thought of nothing in the world but her.
74	Very far away seemed the voice of Hermes, saying, "This jar, too, is from Olympos; it has in it Pandora's dower."
75	For long it stood forgotten, this jar,
76	and green plants grew over it while Epimetheus walked in the garden with the Golden Maid,
77	or watched her while she gazed on herself in the stream,
78	or searched in the untended places for fruits that the elder Gods would eat when they feasted with the Titans in the old days ere Zeus had come to his power.
79	Lost to Epimetheus was the memory of his brother now suffering upon the rock because of the gift he had given men.
80	And Pandora, knowing nothing except the brightness of the sunshine and the lovely shapes and colours of things and the sweet taste of the fruits that Epimetheus brought her, could have stayed forever in the garden.
81	But one day Epimetheus took her by the hand, and brought her out of that garden,
82	and out of that deep-lying valley,
83	and towards the homes of men.
84	He did not forget the jar that Hermes had left with her.
85	All things that belonged to the Golden Maid were precious,
86	and Epimetheus took the jar along.
87	The race of men at that time were simple and content.
88	Their days were passed in toil, but now, since Prometheus had given them fire,
89	they had good fruit of their toil.
90	They had well-shaped tools with which to dig the earth and build houses.
91	Their homes were warmed with fire, and fire burned upon the altars that were upon their ways.
92	Greatly they reverenced Prometheus who had given them fire (divine wisdom),
93	and greatly they reverenced the race of the Titans.
94	So when Epimetheus (ignorance) came amongst them, tall as a man walking upon stilts,
95	they welcomed him, and brought him and the Golden Maid to their hearths.
96	And Epimetheus showed Pandora the wonderful element that his brother had given men;
97	she rejoiced to see the fire, clapping her hands with delight.
98	The jar that Epimetheus brought be left in an open space.
99	In carrying it up the rough ways out of the valley Epimetheus may have knocked the jar about,
100	for the lid that had been tight upon it now fitted very loosely.
101	But no one gave heed to the jar as it stood in the open space where Epimetheus had left it.
102	At first the men and women looked upon the beauty of Pandora,
103	upon her lovely dresses, and her golden crown,
104	and her girdle of flowers, with wonder and delight.
105	Epimetheus would have everyone admire and praise her.
106	And this they did for a while.
107	The men would leave off working in the fields, or hammering on iron, or building houses,
108	and the women would leave off spinning and weaving,
109	and come at his call, and stand about and admire the Golden Maid.
110	But as time went by a change came upon the women:
111	one woman would weep, and another would look angry, and a third would go back sullenly to her work when Pandora was admired or praised.
112	Once when the women were gathered together one who was the wisest amongst them said, "We used not to think about ourselves;
113	we used to be content with what we are and what we have.
114	But now we think about ourselves, and we say to ourselves that we are harsh and ill-favoured, indeed, compared to the Golden Maid that the Titan is so enchanted with.
115	And we hate to see our own men praise and admire her, and often, in our hearts, we would destroy her if we could."
116	"That is true," the women said.
117	And then a young woman cried out in a most yearnful voice, "O tell us, you who are wise, how can we make ourselves as beautiful as Pandora?"
118	Then the woman who was thought to be wise said, "This Golden Maid is lovely to look upon because she has lovely apparel and all the means of keeping herself lovely.
119	The Gods have given her the ways, and so her skin remains fair, and her hair keeps its gold, and her lips are ever red and her eyes shining.
120	And I think that the means of keeping lovely are all in that jar that Epimetheus brought with her."
121	When the woman who was thought to be wise said this, those around her were silent for a while.
122	But then one rose and another rose, and they stood and whispered together, one saying to the other that they should go to the place where the jar had been left by Epimetheus,
123	and that they should take out of it the salves, the charms,
124	and the washes that would make them as beautiful as Pandora.
125	The women went to that place.
126	On their way they stopped at a pool and they bent over to see themselves mirrored in it,
127	and they saw themselves with dusty and unkempt hair,
128	with large and knotted hands, with troubled eyes, and with anxious months.
129	They frowned as they looked upon their images,
130	and they said in harsh voices that in a while they would have ways of making themselves as lovely as the Golden Maid.
131	And as they went on they saw Pandora.
132	She was playing in a flowering field, while Epimetheus, high as a man upon stilts, went gathering the blossoms off the bushes for her.
133	They went on, and they came at last to the place where Epimetheus had left the jar that held Pandora's dower.
134	A great stone jar it was;
135	there was no bird, nor flower, nor branch painted upon it.
136	It stood high as a woman's shoulder.
137	And as the women looked upon it they thought that there were things enough in it to keep them beautiful for all the days of their lives.
138	But each one thought that she should not be the last to get her hands into it.
139	The lid, once tightly fixed down, had been shifted a little.
140	As the hands of the women grasped it to take off the lid, the jar was cast down;
141	the things that were inside spilled themselves forth.
142	They were black and grey and red;
143	they were crawling and flying things.
144	And, as the women looked on, the things spread themselves abroad or fastened themselves upon them.
145	The jar, like Pandora herself, had been made and filled out of the ill-will of Zeus.
146	And it had been filled, not with salves and charms and washes, as the women thought, but with Cares and Troubles.
147	Before the women had come to it one Trouble had already come forth from the jar--Self-thought that was upon the top of the heap.
148	It was Self-thought that had afflicted the women, making them troubled about their own looks, and envious of the graces of the Golden Maid.
149	And now the others spread themselves out--Sickness and War and Strife between friends.
150	They spread themselves abroad and entered the houses, while Epimetheus, the mindless Titan, gathered flowers for Pandora, the Golden Maid.
151	Lest she should weary of her play he called to her.
152	He would take her into the houses of men.
153	As they drew near to the houses they saw a woman seated on the ground, weeping;
154	her husband had suddenly become harsh to her, and had shut the door on her face.
155	They came, upon a child crying because of a pain that he could not understand.
156	And then they found two men struggling, their strife being on account of a possession that they had shared peaceably before.
157	In every house they went into Epimetheus would say, "I am the brother of Prometheus who gave you the gift of fire."
158	But instead of giving them a welcome the men would say, "We know nothing about your relation with Prometheus.
159	We see you as a foolish man upon stilts."
160	Epimetheus was troubled by the hard looks and the cold words of the men who had once reverenced him.
161	He turned from the houses and went away. In a quiet place he sat down, and for a while he lost sight of Pandora.
162	And then it seemed to him that he heard the voice of his wise and suffering brother saying, "Do not accept any gift that Zeus may send you."
163	He rose up and he hurried away from that place, leaving Pandora playing by herself.
164	There came into his scattered mind Regret and Fear.
165	As he went on he stumbled. He fell from the edge of a cliff, and the sea washed away the body of the mindless brother of Prometheus.
166	Not everything had been spilled out of the jar that had been brought with Pandora into the world of men.
167	A beautiful living thing was in the jar also.
168	This was Hope.
169	And this beautiful living thing had got caught under the rim of the jar and had not come forth with the others.
170	Under the rim of Pandora's jar a weeping woman one day found Hope;
171	she brought this living thing into the houses of men.
172	And now because of Hope they could see an end to their troubles.
173	The men and women roused themselves in the midst of their afflictions;
174	they looked towards gladness.
175	Hope, that had been caught under the rim of the jar, stayed behind the thresholds of their houses.
176	As for Pandora, the Golden Maid, she played on, knowing only the brightness of the sunshine and the lovely shapes of things.
177	Beautiful would she have seemed to any being who saw her.
178	But now she was strayed away from the houses of men and Epimetheus was not there to look upon her.
179	Then Hephæstos, the lame artisan of the Gods, put down his tools and went to seek her.
180	He found Pandora; he took her back to Olympos.
181	And in his brazen house she stays, though sometimes, at the will of Zeus, she goes down into the world of men.

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The Theogony of Hesiod

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