Two brothers named Epimetheus and Prometheus lived in Ancient Greece.
They had upset the gods by giving the gift of fire to humans and now the gods wanted to punish them. The gods created a beautiful woman called Pandora and took her to Prometheus, but he refused to accept her because he knew the gods wanted to take their revenge on him. His brother Epimetheus thought Pandora was so beautiful that she could never cause any harm, so he agreed to marry her. The couple lived happily together, until one day the god Hermes arrived, carrying a magnificent box.He wouldn't tell them what the box contained but only that it had to remain sealed forever.
Pandora was very curious about the contents of the box but she had promised Hermes she would never open it. Pandora could not stop gazing at the box. All she could think about was its contents. However, one day Pandora's curiosity got the better of her and she grabbed the box and pulled at the gold cord and knots. But to her surprise when she lifted the heavy lid there was no gold or treasure!Instead the gods had packed the box full of all the terrible evils they could think of. Out of the box poured disease, misery and death, all shaped like tiny buzzing moths.
The creatures stung Pandora. Epimetheus hurried into the room to see why she was yelling. All that remained in the box was Hope. It fluttered from the box like a beautiful butterfly, touching the wounds created by the evil creatures, and healing them. Even though Pandora had released pain and suffering upon the world, she had also allowed hope to follow them.
