Pandora’s Bag

“What do people prize most?”

The question was so incredibly simple that he couldn’t find an answer for it. He stared straight ahead, tongue-tied. Searching, his thoughts collided against each other like waves; he still could not utter anything.
Behind a large Doric column, a mischievous goddess hid and eavesdropped. She wished to whisper the answer in his ear, but she could not risk giving herself away. She already was in bad favor with Zeus. If he knew she was here, she was not sure what would become of her. Her thoughts strayed to Prometheus, and she gulped in fright.

“Must I make the question simpler for you, Epimetheus? What do you cherish most in this world?” Zeus knew that Epimetheus was hardly different than any mortal man. He knew what Epimetheus would say.

And so, this time, the Titan Epimetheus smiled easily and predictably replied, “Myself.”

“Yes, Pride. Yes, of course. And that is what we must take away from them.”

Startled, Pandora jumped up from her hiding place. Black strands flew across her face like spilt ink, and her dark eyes were wide with horror. She glanced at Zeus, wondering if he had noticed a disturbance in the hall, but his face appeared calm and solemn. His eyes particularly scraped over Epimetheus, but never flickered near her. She sighed, relieved, until she remembered why she had jumped up in the first place.

Epimetheus appeared just as startled as she. “Why, Zeus?”

“Because it will be their pride that will eventually destroy them.”

“I do not understand. You must be joking.”

Zeus shook his head sadly, almost wishing he was. “You saw what happened when man was exposed and look at the results. It’s been a continuous downfall.”

“Because of her,” the Titan said regretfully. Her, Pandora. She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, reflecting on the time she cursed humanity because of her naïve curiosity. She wanted to believe she was older and wiser now, but if she was, she would regret what she had done. Instead, she preferred to laugh over the memory. It was quite a contrast against Zeus’s pallid face as he explained his reasoning to Epimetheus.

“But it can be fixed. It already has been fixed. For years, I wondered how to acquire back what man had been given unintentionally. It would be impossible to find every plague. Sin and disease—they lurk everywhere. Even if we did manage to trap them all…Not but a fortnight ago did I realize the answer was simple, Epimetheus. We did not have to take away everything that we had given to man.”

The god waggled his eyebrows and it was then that Pandora noticed he was holding something behind his back. Naturally, she was curious. Apparently, so was Epimetheus.

“What is it that you’re carrying there? Have you already taken their pride from them?”

“Yes.”

In front of Epimetheus, Zeus placed a large, lumpy bag. From her hiding spot, Pandora discreetly snorted.

“An appropriate pithos, of course,” Epimetheus laughed. The bag was ordinary and smelled of sweat and death. “Did you steal this from the humans as well?”

“No,” said Zeus. “A lady gave it to me from…from, ah, what is it called? Oh, yes. A supermarket.” A fond memory, thought Zeus. He was amused greatly by humanity’s upgraded civilizations and had found irony in using the brown paper bag to carry Pride.

Pandora did not know anything about supermarkets, but she agreed with Epimetheus. For such a powerful trait, the bag was an unlikely, undignified choice to keep Pride in. Pandora was anxious to take a peek to see just exactly what Pride looked, even though she knew how much trouble she caused last time she had dared to open her box. It wasn’t in her possession this time either. She felt oddly jealous and flustered. Zeus was spilling his plan to Epimetheus, for the gods’ sakes!
The rest of their conversation droned on mindlessly. Bored, Pandora began to untie a hem from her toga. Under her breath, she happily sang an ancient lament.

Only until a thundering voice called out her name did she remember where she was and what she had been doing. Pandora had always cursed Hermes for giving her an unreliable memory to compliment her sharp wit.

She looked up, her expression sheepish, only to see Epimetheus. They had been lovers once, but he was a fool. She knew it from the moment he took her hand and asked for her trust.

Pandora trusted no one.

“Where is that bag, Epimetheus?” She asked, demand evident in her face. He tried to look baffled, but Pandora saw through his façade and smirked when she saw the bag peeking out from his giant right hand. Before he could stop her, she pulled the bag from him and crushed it against her chest.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

“Zeus was wrong!” cried Pandora. They were the only words she could speak, and she knew they were jus. Zeus had been a fool, too, to trust Epimetheus with the bag and to not suspect her appearance tonight. “Pride is not an evil!”

Surprisingly, Epimetheus chuckled. “Pandora, do you want the world to crash down around us? It is what will happen if man continues to strut around like a peacock. This is the only way.”

Pandora rolled her eyes at Epimetheus. He was only repeating Zeus’s theory. In truth, Epimetheus did not possess any opinions of his own. Yet, he still managed to act superior over her and anyone else who tried to threaten him. And he wondered why she left him!

Pandora tried to keep her voice level. “Pride may be what destroys the world, but it also is what keeps it going. It’s the only way man can continue to progress.”

“How?”

“Pride initiates ambition. Ambition triggers actions, and actions stir growth.”

“We can give them ambition if we need to, Pandora.”

“Fool! How can you say that? What will motivate man if not himself? The gods are not completely all-knowing. Not even Zeus. What will man have to live for if not for the sake that it is his own breath he breathes, his own life? If he is not conscious of that, then we are letting him live only to then die.”

“But because of his pride, he is destructive. He only thinks of himself. He will plunder through anything to save himself.”

“And when he saves himself, he is also saving the rest of humanity. If he does not have that spirit and he simply lays down his life, then…well, sooner or later the world will end too.”

Astounded, Pandora looked down at herself. She had always been clever, but never wise. She had never spoken such confident words though. A shiver ran through her.

“How are you sure?” Epimetheus asked. He raised a dubious, bushy eyebrow.

“I have hope.” Pandora smirked, and before she could think otherwise, opened the bag.

This is my English assignment due Wednesday. The topic was about an object in a brown bag that apparently would send the world as we know it crashing around us. Any critique and commentary would be great before I turned it in. I'm not sure if my teacher will like the mythological edge but we'll see.