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Pandora
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Pandora
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Parthenon, Acropolis, Athens, Greece.
From Athena to Zeus: Basics of Greek Mythology
mythology. Greek. Hermes. (Roman Mercury)
A Study of Greek and Roman Mythology
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Pandora
Pandora Artist's interpretation of Pandora opening the box of misery and evil.

Pandora

Greek mythology
Written by
Urnesha Bhattacherjee
Associate Editor, Britannica India
Urnesha Bhattacherjee
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Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
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•History

Pandora, in Greek mythology, the first woman. According to Hesiod’s Theogony, after Prometheus, a divine trickster and one of the Titans, had stolen fire from heaven and bestowed it upon mortals, Zeus, the king of the gods, was determined to counteract this blessing. In retribution for the stolen fire, Zeus declared that he would give humankind an evil that mortals would nevertheless welcome and delight in. He accordingly commissioned Hephaestus (the god of fire and...

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