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In Greek mythology, Pandora was the first woman created by the gods as a punishment to mankind for Prometheus’ theft of fire. She was created by Hephaestus, the god of blacksmiths and artisans, and was given a jar or a box containing all the evils of the world by Zeus, the king of the gods. Pandora’s curiosity led her to open the jar/box, which released all the evils into the world, leaving only hope inside. Pandora’s story serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of curiosity and disobedience to the gods.

THE UNLEASHING OF CHAOS: A RETELLING OF PANDORA’S BOX

Welcome to our retelling of the myth of Pandora’s Box, a story of curiosity, temptation, and consequences. Set in ancient Greece, this play explores the danger of giving in to our desires and the unforeseen havoc it can wreak. Follow along as we delve into the mythological tale of Pandora and the box that changed everything.

CHARACTERS:

 NARRATOR

 ZEUS

 VULCAN

 ANNA

 VENUS

 ATHENA

 APHRODITE

 DIANA

APOLLO

HERMES

MESSENGER GOD

PROMETHEUS

EPIMETHEUS

HOPE

SCRIPT:

(At Mount Olympus)

NARRATOR: One day, the almighty Zeus, upset with the brothers Prometheus and Epimetheus for bringing fire to humankind, decided to punish mankind because they were mean, evil, and arrogant.  So, he called his son Vulcan.

ZEUS: My dear son, Vulcan.  I want you to make a woman.

VULCAN: A woman?  Why, Father?

ZEUS: Don´t dare to question my decisions.  It´s an order, Vulcan!

VULCAN: But father, making a woman is harder than making armor for Mars, or carving a statue for Anna.

ZEUS: Don´t give me the details, just do it!

VULCAN: Very well.  I´ll start right away.

NARRATOR: So, Vulcan started making a woman.  And with his strong arms, he made a woman as beautiful as the goddess.  One day goddess Anna went to see her.

ANNA: She´s very beautiful, Vulcan.  You did a wonderful job.  I will give her a belt full of pearls and a purple dress with precious stones.

NARRATOR: The sweet goddess Venus also came to see her.

VENUS: Anna was right.  I truly admire your work.  I will give her the gift of generosity, charity, and patience.

NARRATOR: And goddesses Aphrodite and Athena came together to see her.

ATHENA: We needed to see her Vulcan.  I also want to give her a gift.  I give her wisdom.

APHRODITE: She is already beautiful, so I will give her the gift of love.

NARRATOR: And all the gods and goddesses came to see her and gave her many gifts.

DIANA: I give her jewelry, flowers, and a little bit of curiosity.

APOLLO: I give you music.

HERMES: And I give you persuasion.

NARRATOR: After all the gods and goddesses came to see her, Vulcan decided that it was time to take her to his father.

VULCAN: Father, she is the woman you asked me to do.

ZEUS: She´s perfect!  And I can see that all the goddesses already gave her gifts.

VULCAN: Yes, they did.

ZEUS: Very well, then now it´s my turn. Your name will be Pandora, which means “all gifted”. But I also give you this box, which you should take with you when you go down to earth.

PANDORA: It´s a strange but beautiful box, Zeus.

ZEUS: It´s more than that, Pandora.  It´s a very special box.

PANDORA: Tell me more about it, please.

ZEUS: As you can see Pandora, this box is extremely beautiful on the outside.  It´s made of pure gold, and covered with diamonds and rubies.

PANDORA: And it´s so heavy!  What does it have inside?

ZEUS: I can see that Diana gave you curiosity, Pandora.

PANDORA: Just a little.

ZEUS: Anyway, it contains diseases, death, and sorrow for humankind.  All these things can make them suffer, cry, and can even destroy them.  That is why it´s so heavy.

PANDORA: But Zeus!

ZEUS: Listen to me, Pandora.  You should never, ever open this box.

PANDORA: I won´t Zeus, I promise.

ZEUS: Just remember, if you open it, all the diseases, sorrow, and pain will spread through the earth.  If they are kept inside, just as I told you, they will not harm anybody.

PANDORA: I appreciate your gift.  It´s so beautiful and shiny that I can´t stop looking at it.

ZEUS: Now, it´s time for you to go down to earth. Vulcan, tell the messenger, god, to come.  Pandora is ready to leave.

VULCAN: Yes, Father.

NARRATOR: The messenger god came to take Pandora to Earth.  But before leaving Zeus said.

ZEUS: Pandora, when you get to Earth, you will marry Epimetheus, Prometheus’ brother.

PANDORA: Very well, Zeus.  You are my creator, and I will always obey you.

(On Earth)

NARRATOR: Meanwhile Epimetheus and Prometheus were talking about Zeus.

PROMETHEUS: Zeus must be very angry with me.

EPIMETHEUS: I know, you promise not to steal the fire, and you did.

PROMETHEUS: Mortals needed it.  Fire is useful for them.

EPIMETHEUS: Yes, but now we must be very careful.

PROMETHEUS: Zeus is very clever; I know that by now he must be thinking of something.  He will not forgive us.  So, please brother, I warn you not to accept anything from him.

EPIMETHEUS: Don´t worry brother, I won´t.

PROMETHEUS: You have to promise me that you will not accept anything, even if it is a gift sent in friendship.

EPIMETHEUS: I told you not to worry.

NARRATOR: A few days later the Messenger God arrived at Epimetheus’ house with the young girl.

EPIMETHEUS: What are you doing here?

MESSENGER GOD: Zeus sent me with this beautiful girl.  She´s a gift for you.

EPIMETHEUS: I don´t understand.  I know that Zeus is not happy with what my brother and I did.

MESSENGER GOD: Zeus has forgiven him.  That´s why she´s here.

EPIMETHEUS: She´s irresistibly beautiful.  I accept her into my house, please tell Zeus thank you.

MESSENGER GOD: I will.  Her name is Pandora.  Take good care of her.

EPIMETHEUS: Before you leave, tell me what is that box she´s holding in her hand.

MESSENGER GOD: It´s a gift Zeus gave her before coming to earth.  She knows that she must not think of opening it.

EPIMETHEUS: But why?  What´s inside?

MESSENGER GOD: She knows what´s inside.  Just remind her to keep her promise.

EPIMETHEUS: I will.

NARRATOR: After the messenger, god left the earth, Epimetheus took Pandora to his house.

EPIMETHEUS: This is where you will live from now on.

PANDORA: You have a nice house.  Earth is a strange place, but interesting.

EPIMETHEUS: Give me the box, and I will keep it in a safe place.

NARRATOR: Everything was perfect for a few days.  But Pandora didn´t have many things to do on earth, and a lot of time to think.  Besides, one of the goddesses also gave her the gift of curiosity.

PANDORA: I wonder what´s inside the box?  Maybe nothing will happen if I open it just a little.  I could take a quick look and then close it.  No, I better not, I made a promise. This is hard for me, I have to open it, now!

NARRATOR: So, she lifted the lid from the box, and she was horrified by what she saw.

PANDORA: Oh no!  This is terrible!

NARRATOR: A thick dark smoke came out from the box, and horrible evil ghosts started to fill the earth and covered the sun.  They were the ghosts of sickness, suffering, hatred, jealousy, greed, and violence, and started to fill the happy houses of mankind.

PANDORA: What have I done?  I have to cover the lid quickly.

NARRATOR: She tried hard to cover it, but it was too late.  When the dark smoke disappeared, Pandora looked inside the box.

PANDORA: At least something is remaining inside.  But, it´s trying to come out!

NARRATOR:  Zeus, knowing that Pandora was very curious, had placed inside the box the gift of Hope when he felt sorry for all the evil creatures he knew would get out as he tried to get revenge.

PANDORA:  I’ll let go of whatever it is inside the box.

NARRATOR:  Pandora opened the box once again, and Hope went out rapidly.

PANDORA: Who are you?  Where are you going?

HOPE:  I am Hope, and I’ll travel around the world to motivate men when discouragement comes.  I will help them stand up from the fall, and dust themselves up knowing that there will be a brighter tomorrow.  Even though I’ll be the last one to arrive, I’ll comfort the man in his distress.

PANDORA:  Thank you!  I feel better knowing that you will repair all the damage I’ve caused mankind.

Pandora learned a valuable lesson about the dangers of giving in to temptation and the importance of thinking before acting. Though she caused great harm, she was determined to make things right and used her experiences to help others avoid the same mistakes. Through her journey, we see the power of redemption and the hope that comes from learning from our mistakes. Thank you for joining us on this journey through the myth of Pandora’s Box.

THE END

AUTHOR:  GREEK MYTHOLOGY

ADAPTED BY: K I D S I N C O

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