With all of Olympus gathered, Zeus suggested doing something remarkable with their abilities: to create mankind. Prometheus, noble son of Iapetonides received this honor to mold humanity. Combining clay with his very breath, he brought about the beasts and men that roamed the Earth. Though these creations were good, the thoughtful titan was not satisfied so he chose to deviate from the orders of making man in the lightning god’s image and rather with his skillful hands he created the first woman, naming her Elpis. Striking were her features, strong was her frame and pure was her heart. Elpis parthenos was placed among men but did not reside or take comfort in them. Noticing that she was lonely, Prometheus curated a partner for Elpis, naming her Pandora, who was gifted with beauty that paralleled the kyrophite, having grace bestowed by the goddess of love herself. When the two women crossed paths, Elpis for the first time in her existence was struck with Eros while Pandora, who was equally compelled by Elpis, felt a cruel longing and care that wearied her limbs. The two quickly fell in love and found solace and meaning in each other.
One day, Zeus laid his eyes upon the lone, stoic Elpis bathing. Different from any mortal he had seen, Zeus transformed into a swan and made advances that were quickly rejected by the woman for she was in love with another. Zeus became erect with anger, envy coursing through his veins like the ambrosia he drank, and cheeks pink like Dionysus took hold of his embarrassment. These feelings only strengthened by word from the swift footed Hermes that to whom Elpis lay was yet another womanly creation of Prometheus.
Zeus summoned Prometheus to his golden throne, clouds roared as he spoke “Crafty Prometheus, I hereby send thee to eternal imprisonment, fruits of your labor will suffer from your faulty creations that have the gall to deny me!” Zeus then appeared before the two women. To protect pandora, Elpis gave herself to him, the spark of life sealed inside with darkness that humans have yet to embark. Zeus gave Pandora an ultimatum to test this so-called love: doom all of mankind by opening the vessel and releasing into the world eternal evils or abandon the jar and with it her lover. Holding onto to hope, Pandora removed the lid in determination despite the costs to humanity. Prometheus observed from afar with a tortured smile, for the god of forethought planned ahead. He knew that the love that existed between two women was stronger than Atlas’ burden; Pandora would never let go of Elpis. Evil spirits sprung forth in a black wave flying towards the heavens. Pandora in tears hugged the jar saying, “My love, mou lipis”. A light, gold and warm poured from the pithos. The spirit of Elpis stood with a soft smile holding a hand out, “No need to cry any longer for we are together once again. Come.” Pandora took Elpis’ hands and she herself turned into a spirit slowly ascending with Elpis into the heavens.
Analysis
The origin of sapphism is woven in the creation of man and the end of the golden age, but how could this transition from peace and immortality to the entry of the house of Hades involve curation of a love so supple and soft? Behold! The tale of the first two women: Elpis and Pandora.
My aetiological myth explains the origins of sexual orientation, specifically lesbianism. It is the culmination and innovation of various Greek myths, with most of the inspiration from Hesiod’s Works in days in the Theogony where the creation of mankind is described. Major characters in that section of the Theogony like Zeus, Prometheus and Pandora, are also included in this improvisation but their roles and motivations have changed, i.e. Elpis being a human woman rather than a spirit. Furthermore, it describes the first lesbian relationship between Elpis, the first woman created and Pandora the second woman created to be her companion.
The myth begins with Zeus gathering his brothers and sisters to create mankind. Prometheus, a clever and creative Titan that represents forethought (plans ahead) is given the task to create mankind. I went with just Prometheus alone because throughout the older texts, he seems the most emotionally connected to humans as he is willing to go against the lord of the skies on two occasions to help mankind. For example, he tricked Zeus into accepting a less valuable sacrifice so humans have more to consume and stole the gift of fire for humanity (Hesiod ll. 42-53). I also use the epithet “noble son of Iapetonides” because that is his father (Hesiod ll. 54-59).
The myth follows to state that Elpis is the first woman created due to Prometheus. Elpis means “hope” so the character personifies hope and is described using the epithet “parthenos” (Homeric Hymn 9 to Artemis ll. 1-6) which means virgin, a term used to describe goddesses such as Artemis and Athena, who are speculated to be either asexual or lesbian. This was done to lay foundation of the first female to be lesbian and is sapphic in nature, which is why she did not enjoy the company of men. The creation of a second woman as Pandora which means “all gifts'' followed (Hesiod ll. 60), where she was created by Prometheus and Aphrodite to be the ideal companion for Elpis, who felt lonely. Taking the quote from the Theogony “gifted also with cruel longing and cares that weary the limbs” (Hesiod ll. 60-68) served a similar purpose as in the original creation story since she was gifted with Aphrodite’s looks but also drives the idea that Pandora too was longing for someone. Kyrophite is another term for Aphrodite, since it is believed to be where she was born. Also, I chose Aphrodite to be the goddess aid Prometheus in the making of Pandora because Aphrodite is known to be a matchmaker as the goddess of love. Further proof is present when Diomedes confronts Aphrodite and mentions how the goddess leads women astray in her match making antics(Homer, Iliad 5. 349 ff). When the two meet, Elpis is struck by Eros, the god of desire, who uses arrows to make people fall in love / feel desire at the request of Aphrodite (Nonnus, Dionysiaca 41. 399). Overall, the gift of longing and spike of desire establishes that the two fell hard and fast. Many differences from the original writings exist here: Prometheus was not the one to create women as that was rather under the direction Zeus to get revenge / punish Prometheus and mankind because the Titan stole fire and gave it back to mankind (Hesiod ll. 54-59); and the first woman, Pandora, was designed to be beautiful but as well as cunning and evil, causing the downfall of man and like in my iteration was given gifts from all the gods and goddesses from Olympus (Hesiod ll. 69-82) .
Zeus turning into a swan to seduce Elpis is taken from multiple myths where the god would transform into the large bird and lay with women like in the case of Leda (Ovid. Heroides. 16. 55). Elpis declining again shows that she isn’t interested in men as well as the fact she is in love with her partner Pandora. Zeus getting angry and acting poorly is a reflection of his pride, that is present in many Greek myths, the anger and extreme jealousy/vengeful personality is more likened to his wife, Hera, because of Zeus' adulterous nature. As seen in the story of Hercules where Hera generates multiple obstacles/hardships because of this hatred and makes Hercules want to kill his own children (Euripides. Herakles. 830-841). Thus, I feel like such anger can be present in Zeus as well, especially if his ego or power is questioned. I also added the element of embarrassment to highlight the dangerous rhetoric that it should be the “natural inclination” for a woman to want to sleep with a man and if she declines because she is interested in women, it is the ultimate offense. This is a harmful belief that oppresses many sapphics or lesbian women in today’s society .
The myth mimics the original fable in the theogony where Zeus had Prometheus punished. Difference lies in why Prometheus is punished: in this case it was for creating a woman that does not want to sleep with Zeus and has a mortal woman as a partner, while in the ancient text, it was because Prometheus stole fire for humanity (Hesiod. ll. 54-59). This change was made both to fit the story line but also to reflect Zeus’ prideful nature as aforementioned. Elpis giving herself to Zeus (to be stored in the pithos) was done to mimic the famous tragic hero motif that is seen in mythology and other works. While the ultimatum given to Pandora highlights the fated lovers trope, in other words the two are meant to be together and their destinies cannot be interfered with by either God or mortal. This then explains Prometheus seeing this coming, knowing how the events were to play out. As the Titan of forethought (plans ahead) he curated the fates of both women which is a spin on the original tale where he knew to make Pandora to free Elpis (hope) rather than put Elpis in the jar to aid humanity once again (Prometheus Bound, 250). The major twist or climax of the story was made to show how strong the love between Elpis and Pandora was but also to rebel against the original narratives of the story where demonization (of women) through Pandora’s actions is ever present. Lastly, Pandora saying “mou lipis” which means ‘I miss you’ was a fun addition since it sounds like she is saying my Elpis.
In conclusion, the myth is about the origin of sexual orientation, specifically lesbianism. Elpis and Pandora represent the first same sex woman couple in history. Playing with the creation story in the Hesiod's Works in Days section in particular, it illustrates the strong love and bond of two women where, even when faced with Zeus’s wrath and bleak odds, hope literally and figuratively still remains as Prometheus predicted. Pandora like many others who are a part of the LGBTQ plus community still hold onto that same hope and will freely and furiously love who they love.
Bibliography
Primary Sources
Euripides. Herakles. 830-841
Hesiod ll. 42-53
Hesiod ll. 54-59
Hesiod ll. 60-68
Hesiod ll. 69-82
Hesiod ll. 90-105
Homeric Hymn 9 to Artemis ll. 1-6
Homer, Iliad 5. 349 ff
Nonnus, Dionysiaca 41. 399
Ovid. Heroides. 16. 55
Smyth. Prometheus Bound 250 ff
Secondary Sources
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