Pandora's Jar
Bill and John were discussing the previous night's events at John's house.
"She got all mad at me. I really opened up a Pandora's Box, I tell you," John said.
"Jar. Pandora's jar," Bill corrected.
"I've always heard it was box."
Bill continued, "Popular misconception. In Hesiod's original tale, which was in Greek, the word was pithos, which is jar. When Erasmus of Rotterdam translated the tale into Latin in the 16th century he thought pithos meant box. And that's the version we remember today."
John thought, I just opened another box..... or jar, or whatever the hell it was.
- Category: Myths, Legends & Fables
6 comments add one below
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Christopher almost 7 years ago
Just for the record, this is actually true.
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Jamie Clapperton almost 7 years ago
You live and learn! :-)
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Neville Hunt almost 7 years ago
I was certain it would be, Christopher. In future I'm going to try to think outside the jar!
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Christopher almost 7 years ago
If Pandora hadn't left the lid on the box ajar we wouldn't be in this mess!
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Neville Hunt almost 7 years ago
Nice one, Christopher. Every Christmas we have Christmas crackers (do you have such things in the US?). Each cracker has a joke in it and amazingly, every year I get the same joke in my one. 'When is a door not a door? ..... when it's ajar!' The coincidence is getting a bit thin as far as the young ones are concerned. They don't believe me for some reason! And they all groan...
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Christopher almost 7 years ago
Yeah, I've heard that riddle quite a bit before as well.
We don't have Christmas crackers here but I know what they are because I watch a lot of British TV shows. I learned a lot just by watching "Are You Being Served?" which gained quite a cult following in the US over the years.
