oddesses in face; and Athene to
teach her needlework and the weaving of the varied web; and golden
Aphrodite to shed grace upon her head and cruel longing and cares that
weary the limbs. And he charged Hermes the guide, the Slayer of Argus,
to put in her a shameless mind and a deceitful nature.

(ll. 69-82) So he ordered. And they obeyed the lord Zeus the son of
Cronos. Forthwith the famous Lame God moulded clay in the likeness of a
modest maid, as the son of Cronos purposed. And the goddess bright-eyed
Athene girded and clothed her, and the divine Graces and queenly
Persuasion put necklaces of gold upon her, and the rich-haired Hours
crowned her head with spring flowers. And Pallas Athene bedecked her
form with all manners of finery. Also the Guide, the Slayer of Argus,
contrived within her lies and crafty words and a deceitful nature at the
will of loud thundering Zeus, and the Herald of the gods put speech in
her. And he called this woman Pandora [1302], because all they who dwelt
on Olympus gave each a gift, a plague to men who eat bread.

(ll. 83-89) But when he had finished the sheer, hopeless snare, the
Father sent glorious Argos-Slayer, the swift messenger of the gods, to
take it to Epimetheus as a gift. And Epimetheus did not think on what
Prometheus had said to him, bidding him never take a gift of Olympian
Zeus, but to send it back for fear it might prove to be something
harmful to men. But he took the gift, and afterwards, when the evil
thing was already his, he understood.

(ll. 90-105) For ere this the tribes of men lived on earth remote and
free from ills and hard toil and heavy sickness which bring the Fates
upon men; for in misery men grow old quickly. But the woman took off the
great lid of the jar [1303] with her hands and scattered all these and
her thought caused sorrow and mischief to men. Only Hope remained there
in an unbreakable home within under the rim of the great jar, and did
not fly out at the door; for ere that, the lid of the jar stopped her,
by the will of Aegis-holding Zeus who gathers the clouds. But the rest,
countless plagues, wander amongst men; for earth is full of evils and
the sea is full. Of themselves diseases come upon men continually by day
and by night, bringing mischief to mortals silently; for wise Zeus took
away speech from them. So is there no way to escape the will of Zeus.

(ll. 106-108) Or if you will, I will sum you up another tale well and
skilfully--and do you l