Pandora’s Box and the Evil Eye Craft
Just as curiosity killed the cat, curiosity also brought many evils into the world according to Greek mythology. In the story of Pandora’s box recorded by the ancient poet Hesiod, we learn how the Golden Age of man ended and why we have to deal with so many ills as humans. This craft is an evil-eye themed version of Pandora’s box.
The Story of Pandora
According to the Greeks, Pandora was the first human woman on Earth. Zeus asked Hephaestus (the god of craftsmen and metalwork) to create a human woman out of clay. (As a side, men were sculpted out of mud by the Titan Prometheus and the Goddess Athena breathed life into the clay figures.)
Zeus then gods bestow many gifts on Pandora. In fact, her name translates to “all-gifted” or “all-giving”. Hera gives her curiosity and Zeus gives her a great gift as well. At this point most people, would say “Ah, yes. He gave her a magical box.” But, no he did not! In the story by Hesiod, Zeus gives Pandora a jar full of all the miseries in the world. Due to a mistranslation in the 1500’s we now call the vessel a box rather than a jar.
Zeus instructed her not to open the jar, but of course she did.
Out of the jar flew seven evils: Sickness, Death, Turmoil, Strife, Jealousy, Hatred and Passion. These forever changed the Earth into a place of struggle and hardship for humans. She quickly struggled to shut the jar or box and left one thing inside it: Hope!
Was Trapping Hope Inside the Jar Good or Bad?
Sometimes having hope is positive because it gives you the inspiration to carry on and keep trying. However, misguided hope can also be a distraction and keep you from seeing things as they really are in life.
There is also the point that by letting the evils out of the jar Pandora let them lose in the world. But she trapped Hope in the jar, does that mean there is no Hope in the world and we are all doomed? The meaning of the story is very unclear and it up to each person to think about and decide for themselves what it says about mortal life.
The Evil Eye
At MythologyCrafts, we decided to design our Pandora’s Box with an evil-eye theme to ward off any bad luck and offer a little protection. So, let’s learn about the evil-eye for this craft as well!
What is the EVIL EYE?
It’s basically a curse put on someone when another person looks at them with the stink eye! Typically, people will cast the evil eye on someone out of jealousy. For example, imagine getting the stink eye from someone after you scored 98% on a hard test.
Evidence for the evil-eye dates back almost 5,000 years and has been found in the ancient city of Ugarit in Syria. The eye was also referenced by the ancient Greeks and Romans such as Plato, Hesiod and Pliny the Elder. To protect infants from the evil eye, Pliny suggested spitting three times when strangers were around. In Egypt, an Eye of Horus amulet could provide protection and other Mediterranean cultures the deep blue eye that we often see in Greece and Turkey became a symbol of protection.
By wearing an evil eye amulet or charm the powers of the negative curse would be directed to and absorbed by the charm not the person wearing it. Thus, one could ward off evil and protect themselves from negative and jealous curses. Seems like just sort of thing humans would need after Pandora let jealousy our of the jar!
Now to our craft!
Supplies:
- Cigar Box/Shoe Box or Other type of Box
- Paint (Various Colors: white, blue, black, etc)
- Paint Brushes
Directions:
- Apply a white base coat to your box and wait for it to dry
- Add a a few decorate evil eyes and other patterns to your box
- Allow your box to dry
Use your box to hold special items like jewelry or baseball cards!