(潘朵拉:希臘神話中的第一位女性)
In Greek mythology, Pandora is known as the first mortal woman created by the gods. According to Works and Days by Hesiod, Zeus instructed Hephaestus to mold her from clay as a punishment for humanity after Prometheus stole fire from the gods. Each Olympian deity gave her a gift, which is why her name—Pandora—means “all-gifted.” She was sent to Earth with a jar (originally pithos, later mistranslated as a “box”) that contained all the evils of the world.
(中譯:在希臘神話中,潘朵拉被視為第一位由眾神創造的凡人女性。根據詩人赫西奧德的《工作與時日》,宙斯在普羅米修斯偷取火種之後,命令火神赫菲斯托斯用泥土造出潘朵拉,作為對人類的懲罰。奧林匹斯的每位神祇都送給她一項禮物,因此她的名字「Pandora」意指「接受眾神之禮的女子」。她被送往人間,隨身攜帶一個甕(原文為 pithos,後來誤譯為“box”盒子),裡頭裝著世間所有的災難與邪惡。)
Her creation symbolizes not only the origin of women but also serves as a mythological explanation for the presence of suffering in the world.
(中譯:她的誕生不僅象徵女性的起源,也提供了一個解釋人間苦難來源的神話寓言。)
✅Origin of the Idiom “Pandora’s Box”
(「潘朵拉的盒子」的諺語起源)
The phrase originates from Greek mythology. In Hesiod’s Works and Days, Zeus gave Pandora a jar (pithos) and warned her never to open it. However, driven by curiosity, she opened it—releasing all the evils into the world. Only hope remained inside after she quickly closed it again.
(中譯:這個片語源自希臘神話。根據赫西奧德的《工作與時日》,宙斯送給潘朵拉一個甕(pithos),並警告她絕不可打開。但潘朵拉因好奇心驅使,打開了甕,釋放出世間所有的災難與邪惡,僅剩下「希望」仍留在甕中。)
The idiom “Pandora’s box” has since become a metaphor for any action that appears minor or harmless at first but ends up causing significant, unpredictable, and often irreversible consequences.
(中譯:自此之後,「Pandora’s box」就成為一個暗喻,用來形容那些起初看似微不足道或無害的行為,卻可能導致難以預料、甚至無法挽回的後果。)

圖片創作: Copilot AI
✅Idiom in Action: Examples Across Contexts
(習語實例:不同語境中的用法)
🛑Business(商業)
The company’s decision to allow remote work opened Pandora’s box of management challenges—from tracking productivity to preserving company culture. (中譯:公司決定允許遠距工作,結果打開潘朵拉的盒子,引發一連串管理上的挑戰,包括監控工作效率及維繫企業文化等問題。)
🛑Science(科學)
Critics argue that genetic engineering has opened Pandora’s box of ethical dilemmas, such as human enhancement and manipulating nature.
(中譯:批評者認為,基因工程打開潘朵拉的盒子,引發關於人類增強與操控自然的倫理爭議。)
🛑Environment(環境)
Introducing non-native species turned out to be a Pandora’s box for the ecosystem.
(中譯:引進外來物種,最終成為破壞生態系的潘朵拉的盒子。)
✅Conclusion(總結)
The phrase “Pandora’s box” highlights how one seemingly small decision can lead to a complex chain reaction of events, often far more serious and harder to manage than anyone originally anticipated.
(中譯:「Pandora’s box」這個諺語強調,一個看似微小的決定如何引發複雜、嚴重且難以控制的連鎖反應,其後果往往超出人們最初的想像。)
圖片創作:Copilot AI













