Odilon Redon, Pandora, 1914

Said to be the first woman to roam Earth, Pandora was to be the guardian of Earth's true beauty. When Prometheus stole fire from the heavens, Zeus sought to seek vengeance on him. To exact his vengeance, Zeus presented Pandora to Epimetheus, Prometheus' brother, and with her a box crafted by the god Hephasteus. This box is, of course, the famed box that holds all the evil in the world. Redon depicts Pandora in all of her beauty with vivid, dreamy colors that completely take the focus away from the box in her hands.

The issue here is that Prometheus was actually a good guy just trying to be the benefactor of mankind and bring humans fire. But Zeus wasn't a fan of his fire being stolen, nor humans. So he created the first woman to be Epimetheus' bride and gave her the box, imbuing his creation with all the attributes he found decidedly human - especially curiosity. Zeus warned the newlyweds not to open it, but one day when Epimetheus was away, Pandora decided to open it. which released all of the evils known to mankind.

But, the good thing is that at the bottom of the box, underneath all of the creepy evils spewing out of it, remained the gift of hope. Hope was the one good thing Zeus gave to Pandora, and therefore humans for the rest of time. It was the light in the box, the thing that Redon portrays here in this piece. Whether this is before she opens the box or after, Redon focuses upon the lighter aspects of Pandora as a being and of the world she has been created to embody in its beauty.