Pandora and Eve
- Breanna McNeish
- Dec 16, 2024
- 7 min read
Most people might think that Hesiod's Pandora and the Bible's Eve has nothing to do with them and their everyday lives, that's where they're wrong! If you are a woman, a Christian, or both in the Western world or you know someone who is, the things discussed in this article directly pertain to their faith and/or every day life. The misogynist notions perpetuated by a poet thousands of years ago still affect how women are perceived today in a largely culturally Christian society.
In the 8th century BCE the Greek author Hesiod wrote Theogony, and Work and Days amongst others works. These two poems include the story of Pandora, who the ancient Greeks believed to be the first woman. The pantheon of Gods worshiped in Ancient Greece and the stories surrounding them held influence long after the Romans conquered and other religions gained popularity. The narratives and ideas of ancient Greek myth share similar themes with the material of other religions like the Ancient Roman pantheon of gods and even Christianity.
The Christian Bible’s story of the first man and woman, Adam and Eve in the Book of Genesis, has similar themes in regards to their ideas about women.
The similarities between Eve and Pandora are undeniable. In both stories women are created by a divine power after men, rendering them secondary. Being an addition to man strips both Pandora and Eve of their individuality and agency and establishes them as lesser than. For example, it is specifically stated in the book of Genesis in the Bible, “ The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”...But for Adam no suitable helper was found. So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.” (Genesis 18:22)
Nevertheless the stories of Eve and Pandora differ from one another. While both women were created as secondary, their purposes were quite different. Eve was created to be a helper for man, Pandora was created as a punishment. In Hesiod’s Theogony, and Work and Days Prometheus angers Zeus by bringing mortal men fire. To make men pay the price Zeus created the first woman. The Gods adorned the gorgeous woman beautifully and ironically name her Pandora, or “all gifts”. Hesiod calls her “the beautiful evil” (Hesiod, 585) and claims that “even so Zeus who thunders on high made women to be an evil to mortal men, with a nature to do evil.” (Hesiod, 600). Zeus offers Pandora to Epimethus who takes her as a wife despite his brother Prometheus warning him to never accept a gift from Zeus. Pandora herself is given a jar from Zeus who tells her she must never open it. This of course tempts Pandora into opening the jar and releasing all the evils of mankind into the world and closing it just in time so that only hope remains. (Zeitlin, 60)
The women’s ascribed purpose in regards to their male counterpart pertains to how the two women are characterized in terms of their humanity. Eve retains her full humanity because of her status as a “helper” and a reproductive vessel, “Eve is referred to as "The Mother of All That Lives," while Pandora is only the ancestress of the race of women (genosgynailan).” (Boyarin, 98) This adds to the intense negative portrayal of women by Hesiod, which heavily implies that not only are women inherently evil burdens upon the lives of men, but they are a different race of being entirely and not as human as men, saying, “For from her is the race of women and female kind: of her is the deadly race and tribe of women who live amongst mortal men to their great trouble, no helpmeets in hateful poverty, but only in wealth.” (Hesiod, 590).
This is not to say that Christian and Biblical texts, especially Adam and Eve, portray women as equal to men. The fact that Eve was created to be a helper reduces all women to that status and therefore nothing more than helpers and companions that only exist to assist and serve their male counterparts. In addition to this, the same story uses the words “wife” and “woman” interchangeably when referring to Eve, implying that a woman’s place is to be a wife and according to scripture, wives are required to serve and submit to their husbands, “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.” (Ephesians 5:22-24) It can be inferred that this rhetoric was intended to keep women subordinate in a new religion and society just as they had been in the old one by clearly defining their roles as mindless servants who only understand enough about the world to appreciate their husbands. The Bible’s stance on women questioning religion or having ideas about faith perfectly illustrates this, it says, “As in all the churches of the saints, the women should keep silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be in submission, as the Law also says. And if they desire to learn anything, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is improper for a woman to speak in church.” (1 Corinthians 14:34-35). Not only do these bits from scripture illustrate the way women and their rights were viewed during the wake of Christianity, they also mimic the way women were viewed in ancient Greece. This reframing of old ideas effectively maintained the same patriarchal framework from ancient Greek times and expanded it to societies thousands of years in the future.
Hesiod’s negative ideas about women’s morality are mirrored in Christian teachings. Though both characters face the consequences of God’s wrath, the story of Adam and Eve in the book of Genesis places all the blame and wrongdoing on Eve despite the fact Adam also ate the apple. This mimics how in Theogony the entirety of the blame for releasing evil into the world is put on Pandora, in spite of the fact that Prometheus specifically warned Epimetheus not to accept a gift from Zeus which he does anyway. This logical inconsistency is ignored by both texts in order to maintain the narrative that women are to blame for all men’s misfortunes. Further villainizing women is the fact that Eve was the one easily swayed by sin and the one who tempts Adam to commit it with her, which narratively places her in a similar role as the serpent. The identity of the serpent in the garden of Eden is highly debated, but is commonly understood as Satan or a manifestation of evil or temptation. By placing Eve in a similar role the Bible repeats the same rhetoric perpetuated by Hesiod that women are inherently evil or at least are at a greater propensity to do evil.
Theogony, Work and Days, and the Bible also have similar ideas about sexual purity especially in regards to women. The Bible condemns sexual immorality for people of all genders but there is an undeniable blame placed on women as the reason it occurs. Christian teachings often speak of dressing modestly, especially for women, claiming that the female body is distracting to men and will cause them to sin, “I also want the women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, adorning themselves, not with elaborate hairstyles or gold or pearls or expensive clothes,” (1 Timothy 2:9) This verse only mentions modesty for women, leaving men the freedom to dress however they want, thus objectifying women and giving men sole autonomy. It is argued by some scholars that despite the fact that Hesiod never mentions sexual intercourse that Pandora’s opening of the jar symbolizes the loss of her virginity, and it is therefore her responsibility that all evil is released, “Female sexuality is, on this reading, the root of all evil. The fact that it is Pandora who opens the jar and not Epimetheus is only a further displacement of any possible guilt or responsibility for "the human condition" from the male to the female.” (Boyarin, 85). Similarly, some biblical scholars, namely proponents of the serpent seed view, argue that Eve was seduced by the serpent and the two had sexual relations. This again demonizes female sexuality specifically as opposed to so-called sexual impurity from any gender. Judaism, where Christianity finds its roots, has mythology that characterizes female sexuality as a literal demon named Lilith, meaning “Night Demon”. According to the Babylonian Talmud, Lilith was the first wife of Adam who demanded equality and disobeyed Adam by arguing with him about wanting to be “on top” during sexual intercourse and so they were divorced and Lilith became a demon. “The Bible mentions the Lilith only once, as a dweller in waste places (Isaiah 34:14), but the characterization of the Lilith or the lili (in the singular or plural) as a seducer or slayer of children has a long pre-history in ancient Babylonian religion.” (Lesses, 1) These stories specifically portray female sexuality and the want for equality as evil.
Overall it is easy to see the parallels between the stories of Adam and Eve and Pandora. The clear bias involved in the writing of Hesiod’s works influenced religions and societies occurring long after his and maintained the patriarchal system he favored. These misogynistic values and villainization of women persist in society today, but by recognizing the prejudice ingrained in this literature we can surely overcome it.
Works Cited
Lewis, L. (2023). Hesiod. Salem Press Biographical Encyclopedia.
Zeitlin F, (1990) Signifying Difference: The Myth of Pandora, Hawley, R., Levick, B., & International Conference on Women in the Ancient World, 1st : 1993 : St. Hilda’s College, Oxford). (1995). Women in antiquity : new assessments / edited by Richard Hawley and Barbara Levick. Routledge.
Boyarin, D. (Ed.). (1993). 3 Different Eves: Myths of Female Origins and the Discourse of Married Sex. University of California Press. https://doi.org/10.1525/9780520917125-006
“Access Your Bible from Anywhere.” BibleGateway.Com: A Searchable Online Bible in over 150 Versions and 50 Languages., www.biblegateway.com/. Accessed 16 Dec. 2024.
Lesses, Rebecca. “Lilith.” Jewish Women’s Archive, jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/lilith#pid-13699. Accessed 16 Dec. 2024.
“Hesiod, Works and Days.” HESIOD, WORKS AND DAYS - Theoi Classical Texts Library, www.theoi.com/Text/HesiodWorksDays.html. Accessed 16 Dec. 2024.
“Hesiod, Theogony.” Hesiod, Theogony, Line 585, www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0130%3Acard%3D585. Accessed 16 Dec. 2024.
Christian Research Institute. “Did Eve Have Sex with Satan? The Serpent Seed View of Genesis 3:15.” Christian Research Institute, 14 May 2024, www.equip.org/articles/eve-sex-satan-serpent-seed-view-genesis-315/.
Alma-Tadema, Lawrence. Pandora. Http://Www.the-Athenaeum.Org/Art/Full.Php?ID=1318, 1881.
The Elder, Lucas Cranach. Adam and Eve. CNN, 1528, Uffizi .
Rosetti, Dante Gabriel. Lady Lilith. Wikipedia, 1866, Delaware Art Museum.
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