of existing evils, the poet traces them back to
the one great evil which the gods have inflicted upon men; and that
is--woman.

This indictment first finds expression in his version, of the myth of
Pandora, the Mother Eve of Greek legend.

Hesiod tells us in this poem that in old days the human race had the use
of fire, and in gratitude to the gods offered burnt sacrifice. But
Prometheus had defrauded the gods of their just share of the sacrifices
and had compelled Zeus to be content with merely the bones and fat; and,
in return for this deception, Zeus devised grievous troubles for mortals
by depriving them of fire. Prometheus then stole fire from heaven.
Zeus, angered at being outwitted by the crafty Prometheus, determined to
inflict on men a bane from which they would not quickly recover. He
straightway commanded Hephaestus to mix earth and water, to endow the
plastic form with human voice and powers, and to liken it to a heavenly
goddess--virginal, winning, and fair. Athena was commanded to teach her
the domestic virtues; Aphrodite, to endow her with beauty, eager desire,
and passion that wastes the bodies of mortals; and Hermes, to bestow on
her a shameless mind and a treacherous nature. All obeyed the command of
Zeus, and in this manner was fashioned the first woman. Then Athena
added a girdle and ornaments; the Graces and Persuasion hung their
golden chains over her body, and the Hours wove for her garlands of
spring flowers. The name given this fascinating creature was Pandora,
because each of the gods had bestowed on her gifts to make her a fatal
bane unto mortals.

Hermes then led her down to earth to present her to Epimetheus, whom his
brother Prometheus had bidden never to receive any presents from
Olympian Zeus. Epimetheus, however, was captivated by Pandora's beauty
and received her, and only after the evil befell did he remember his
brother's command. Until the advent of woman, men, it is said, had lived
secure from trouble, free from wearisome labor, and safe from painful
diseases that bring death to mankind. But now Pandora with her hands
lifted the lid from the great jar with which the gods had dowered her,
the great jar wherein these evils had been securely imprisoned, and let
them loose upon the earth. With the sorrows, hope had been confined; but
when they were loosed, hope flew not forth, for too soon Pandora closed
the lid of the vessel. Hence, laments Hesiod, hopeless is the lot of
humanity,