What Gift Does Hermes Give to Pandora?

Have you ever heard the story of Pandora’s box? It’s a well-known Greek myth about a woman named Pandora who was given a box by the gods that contained all the evils of the world. But did you know that before she received this gift, another god had given her something else?

Hermes, the messenger god, was tasked with creating Pandora and presenting her to the other gods as a punishment for Prometheus stealing fire from them. As part of his creation, Hermes gave Pandora a special gift – a beautiful jar or urn that contained all the blessings and good things in the world.

At first glance, this might seem like a kind gesture from Hermes. After all, who wouldn’t want to receive such a wonderful gift?

But there was a catch. The jar was not meant to be opened.

Pandora, however, couldn’t resist her curiosity and opened the jar anyway. This unleashed all of the evils and misfortunes of humanity into the world. And so began the myth of Pandora’s box.

The exact nature of what was in this jar is up for interpretation. Some versions say it contained hope as well as all the other blessings, while others say hope was left inside after Pandora released everything else.

Regardless of what exactly was in it, Hermes’ gift to Pandora is an important reminder about temptation and consequences. It’s also a cautionary tale about being careful what we wish for or open ourselves up to.

In summary, Hermes gave Pandora a jar or urn containing all of the blessings and good things in the world as part of her creation by the gods. However, it was not meant to be opened and when she did so anyway it unleashed all of humanity’s misfortunes into the world. This is an important reminder about temptation and consequences that has endured through centuries as part of Greek mythology.