Centuries and centuries ago there were amazing stories of how things came to be. Great fables and myths that are still heard today though many are considered debunked. If you know me at all well you know I am fascinated with very specific periods in history, amongst those being Ancient Greece. I was so fascinated by Ancient History I went so far as to minor in Classical Studies while getting my Bachelor's degree in Political Science and International Studies.
It enthralls me how these people who had so little in ways of science or even history in some cases were able to organize some of the most amazing societies, empires, and religions. I believe that the Ancient Greek religion is one of my favorites. It is so unique because though they have multiple Gods and Goddesses with specific attributes and realms of influence, these deities still have very human flaws. They are one of the only organized religions that had their "Great Beings" be imperfect and make mistakes. That could be why I am drawn to Ancient Greek mythology.
One of my favorite stories out of Greek mythology is that of Prometheus and his brother, Epimethius. According to the myth, these two Titan brothers molded all living things giving each a gift to protect them. Prometheus got in trouble because he gave humans fire, a substance only meant for the Gods. His punishment was to be chained to a rock for the rest of eternity and each day have his liver eaten by an eagle, but this was not the only punishment handed down by the Gods. Prometheus's brother got his own punishment. The Gods fashioned Epimethius a wife. She was perfect in every way.
Her name was Pandora.
Pandora was Epimethius's punishment, for with Pandora came her pythos (which was a jar not a box) and she was never to open it. But the Gods who had created Pandora gave her curiosity, not normally a bad thing, so one day she opened her pythos. She unleashed all the greatest horrors into the world. War, Death, Disease, etc. The only thing she managed to save was Hope. And so goes the story of why humans will always have hope to fall back on in the worst of circumstances.
Hope is something that means a lot to me. I refuse to lose it. I mean Pandora saved it for us for a reason. When you lose hope there is nothing left to live for, you just exist. Hope is what keeps me going, keeps me fighting. I have had hope in many things and people. I work in a field where having hope is half the battle. You have to believe you can win and then fight every second so that you get there. Even at my lowest points I always believe there is a chance. It is the reason I always want to believe the best of people, why I give them so many chances to prove me right.
I will be honest and say that sometimes it does blow up in my face. Sometimes I am let down. Very badly in some cases, but somehow I can always get back up. Because there are times when I am so very right, where I am given more reason to believe in what I do and the people I keep in my life.
Hope is such a fascinating concept. I literally keeps people going and doing amazing things. The world is full of people who have only hope to fall back on to keep them fighting for whatever it is they believe in or whatever goals they wish to achieve. But seeing someone lose hope is the worst thing in the world. It is like seeing someone lose the life inside. Watching them give up and just exist through doing just enough to get by. To think that one thing can be the catalyst of so much. It is insane and yet it makes so much sense. Why would the Greeks have made it so important that Pandora saved Hope if it meant nothing? Thousands of years ago it was understood that the one thing that would keep mankind moving forward was hope and today that still rings true.
I can not tell you what I was really trying to achieve with this, but a thought struck me and I had to write it down. Maybe the muses were out to play today. Maybe I am a lucky victim of one of the nine's touch. Who is to know?
