Purpose and Meaning of Pandora's Box:

Pandora's box is meant to be a warning to mankind-- don't be

curious and don't investigate into the world to test the gods. It is

human nature to be curious-- when your mom told you not to do

something as a kid, didn't it make you want to go do it to see what

happened? It is an innate part of our being to be curious. Curiosity

separates us from the animals-- we wonder why something happens or

is, and try to change it or figure out what or why something happens

to be how it is. 

Have you ever heard the phrase, "Curiosity killed the cat"? If

you look at this myth, it might have indirectly. When Pandora's

curiosity got the better of her and she opened the lid on that box, she

released numerous horrid things into the world; destruction, hatred,

racism, jealousy, and yes, death. So by Pandora's opening of the box,

we have death in the world, and your fluffy cat will eventually push

up daisies thanks to her. 

Also, maybe keeping curiosity in check was a very helpful tool

in ancient times. If you thought to yourself, "Hmm! I wonder what

happens if I eat this multicolored, spiky plant?"then you probably

would end up dead or very sick. So the myth could have just given

people a reason to not do stupid things.

However you look at it, Pandora's box was a warning to mankind

about exercising a restraint over your curiosity. After all, who wants to

be responsible for causing everyone in the world, indirectly, to die?

And who would want Zeus sending things to eat your internal organs?

Not me, I'd imagine. If you could prevent horrible things and keep all

your body parts in their rightful place by not being curious, why

would you do anything else? 

Pandora's box also explains why human beings maintain and

have hope even with all the terrible things in life. If Pandora had shut

the box before hope came out, what would've happened? The Greeks

maybe thought that without all the horrible things, there couldn't have

been hope. Imagine everyone walking around, depressed and beaten,

not bothering to do anything because they can't hope that it'll turn out

well. So looking back, maybe it was a good thing Pandora opened that

box. 
Adam and Eve: Adam and Eve is the story in the bible of how evil got

into the world. God made man, Adam, to live in the Garden of Eden,

where there is no death, conflict, sickness, or hatred. God gave Adam

his choice of companion, but none fit. So God took a rib from Adam

and made woman-- Eve. They were warned never to eat of The Tree

of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.  They lived happily together,

until Eve was tempted by the serpent into eating the fruit that they had

been forbidden to eat. By eating the fruit, they committed the first sin

and were banished from the garden. Outside the garden, they were

forced to endure pain, work for their food, and there was suffering and

death.

(Based on Genesis 2-3)

Pandora's Box: Pandora's box is the Greek myth of how evil came into

the world. Prometheus had made mankind, and given them fire, the

gift reserved only for the gods. To punish mankind, Zeus

commissioned Hephaestus to make Pandora, the first woman. He

made her purposely curious, and gave her to Epimetheus, brother of

Prometheus, to be his wife. As a wedding gift, he gave her a box and

told her never to open it. They lived happily, until Pandora grew

curious. She opened the box, and out flew all the bad things in life;

pain, suffering, hatred, and all bad things. However, one good thing

came out-- hope.  

(Based on Robert Grave's Atlas and Prometheus)