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Curiosity:

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a blessing, or a curse?

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The paradoxical nature of this trait

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was personified for the ancient Greeks

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in the mythical figure of Pandora.

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According to legend,

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she was the first mortal woman,

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whose blazing curiosity set a chain 
of earth-shattering events in motion.

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Pandora was breathed into being 
by Hephaestus, God of fire,

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who enlisted the help of his divine 
companions to make her extraordinary.

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From Aphrodite she received the capacity 
for deep emotion;

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from Hermes she gained 
mastery over language.

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Athena gave the gift of fine craftsmanship
and attention to detail,

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and Hermes gave her her name.

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Finally, Zeus bestowed 
two gifts on Pandora.

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The first was the trait of curiosity,

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which settled in her spirit and sent 
her eagerly out into the world.

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The second was a heavy box, ornately 
curved, heavy to hold –

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and screwed tightly shut.

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But the contents, Zeus told her, 
were not for mortal eyes.

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She was not to open the box 
under any circumstance.

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On earth, Pandora met and fell in love 
with Epimetheus, a talented titan

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who had been given the task 
of designing the natural world by Zeus.

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He had worked alongside 
his brother Prometheus,

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who created the first humans

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but was eternally punished 
for giving them fire.

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Epimetheus missed his brother desperately,

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but in Pandora he found another 
fiery-hearted soul for companionship.

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Pandora brimmed with excitement 
at life on earth.

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She was also easily distracted 
and could be impatient,

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given her thirst for knowledge and desire
to question her surroundings.

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Often, her mind wandered to the contents 
of the sealed box.

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What treasure was so great it could never 
be seen by human eyes,

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and why was it in her care?

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Her fingers itched to pry it open.

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Sometimes she was convinced 
she heard voices whispering

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and the contents rattling around inside,

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as if straining to be free.

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Its enigma became maddening.

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Over time, Pandora became more and more 
obsessed with the box.

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It seemed there was a force beyond her 
control that drew her to the contents,

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which echoed her name louder and louder.

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One day she could bear it no longer.

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Stealing away from Epimetheus,

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she stared at the mystifying box.

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She’d take one glance inside,

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then be able to rid 
her mind of it forever...

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But at the first crack of the lid, 
the box burst open.

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Monstrous creatures and horrendous sounds

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rushed out in a cloud of smoke and swirled
around her, screeching and cackling.

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Filled with terror,

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Pandora clawed desperately at the air 
to direct them back into their prison.

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But the creatures surged out 
in a gruesome cloud.

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She felt a wave of foreboding 
as they billowed away.

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Zeus had used the box as a vessel

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for all the forces of evil 
and suffering he’d created –

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and once released,

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they were uncontainable.

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As she wept,


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Pandora became aware of a sound echoing 
from within the box.

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This was not the eerie 
whispering of demons,

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but a light tinkling that seemed 
to ease her anguish.

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When she once again lifted 
the lid and peered in,

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a warm beam of light rose out 
and fluttered away.

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As she watched it flickering in the wake 
of the evil she’d unleashed,

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Pandora’s pain was eased.

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She knew that opening the box 
was irreversible –

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but alongside the strife, she’d set hope
forth to temper its effects.

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Today, Pandora’s Box suggests 
the extreme consequences

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of tampering with the unknown –

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but Pandora’s burning curiosity also 
suggests the duality that lies

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at the heart of human inquiry.

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Are we bound to investigate everything 
we don’t know,

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to mine the earth for more –

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or are there some mysteries

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that are better left unsolved?