Pandora From Hesiod's Theogony Analysis

Myths became eminently popular in Greece, as it was intricately connected to religion in ancient Greece. They were told to explain the origins of the world and gave advice on how to lead a happy life. Accordingly, these poems intertwined with the culture and history of Greece. This essay will examine the poem, Pandora from Hesiod’s Theogony (Theogony 573 – 620, translated in Trzaskoma et al., 2004), and the many hidden meanings and messages within. The two theories that will be referred to explain the excerpt are Allegory (Moral) and Structuralism. Although Allegory has become obsolete while Structuralism remains in use (Dowden, 1992, pg. 17 – 24), both theories offer copious explanations for Hesiod’s Theogony, thus I will argue that Structuralism …show more content…
By doing so, it can explain the relations between the myths to the beliefs and issues of that society with more detail. As stated previously, myths provide a way for the Greeks to give advice on how to lead a happy life. Hesiod explains how one can never escape marriage and must find a wife or die alone. This can be represented through Pandora, who while attractive and appealing, resembling something favorable as described by Hesiod “Intricately designed and a wonder to look at” (Theogony 584), is also hiding evil inside. Additionally, the attractiveness appearance and evil emotions of Pandora directly shows the binary opposites of inner and outer beauty. Hesiod’s description of Pandora conveys the idea that men should not be swayed by beauty alone, and should consider the other …show more content…
It is implied that Hesiod considers women useless as he compares them metaphorically to a drone and men to the working bees as stated on lines 600 – 605. This comparison explores the issues with gender inequality and the treatment of women. This is reinforced as the very creation of women was set as a punishment from the gods (Theogony 588). Accordingly, Pandora’s myth contains misogynistic themes; she not only portrays how men are inferior to the gods, but also women’s inferiority to men. Evidence for this is given that a male god was responsible for the creation of Pandora (Theogony 574). Through the birth of Pandora, Zeus preempts women’s role in childbirth considering that a male god can perform the act of childbirth. Conversely, with all the negative attitude towards women in the passage, Hesiod does target the gender issue that is present in society. Hesiod could have chosen to show the issues of society by portraying women in this particular negative viewpoint to express this