Pandora's Box. Meaning, origin, examples of the use of phraseological units

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Winged words, phraseological units. Meaning, history of origin, examples of use

Winged words, phraseological units

Directory / Winged words, phraseological units

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Pandora's Box

Ancient Greek and Roman mythology

Phraseologism: Pandora's Box.

Meaning: The source of all kinds of disasters, misfortunes, troubles (book).

Origin: From the poem "Works and Days" by the ancient Greek poet Hesiod (VIII-VII centuries BC). It cites the myth of Pandora (Greek: “gifted with everything”), a beautiful woman whom Zeus sent to earth to punish both Prometheus, who stole fire from Olympus for mortals, and all people who dared to use this stolen gift. All the Olympian gods presented gifts to Pandora before leaving for earth, and Zeus presented her with a special gift - a beautifully decorated chest, but immediately warned that she should never look into it. Knowing female psychology, Zeus was sure that his revenge would take place: Pandora, driven by curiosity, would definitely open the casket, and from there all human vices, misfortunes and misfortunes that Zeus had prepared as a "gift" to humanity would break free. The beautiful Pandora managed to please the brother of Prometheus - the ingenuous Epimetheus, who married her. At the same time, he forgot the strict order of Prometheus not to accept anything and anyone from Zeus. Pandora, unable to resist her curiosity, opened the chest. So people were punished by Zeus. The only thing left at the bottom of the box is Hope.

Random phraseology:

Xanthippe.

Meaning:

An angry, quarrelsome, absurd wife next to a calm, contemplative and contemplative husband (jokingly ironic).

Origin:

The name of the wife of the great philosopher of Ancient Greece Socrates, which has become a household name for a grumpy, quarrelsome wife who does not know how to appreciate the mind, talents, deeds of her husband. But documentary evidence about Xanthippe suggests otherwise. So, in the most authoritative source of information about the philosopher - "Memoirs of Socrates", written by his student Xenophon (c. 430-355 BC), - it is said that Xanthippe was a caring wife and selfless mother. And these memoirs do not contain any information about discord in the family of Socrates. Another student of Socrates, the great philosopher of Ancient Greece Plato (427-347 BC), tells how Xanthippe grieved, foreseeing the imminent death of her husband. The myth about the special quarrelsomeness of Xanthippe goes back to the composition "Feast" of the same Xenophon. But, unlike what he wrote about her in his memoirs, in this essay he calls Xanthippe "the most unbearable of women, not only at the present time, but also in the past and in the future." It also contains Socrates' answer to the question of the philosopher Antisthenes, who asked him why he married such an intolerable woman. Socrates allegedly answered: “I observe that people who want to become experienced riders choose not obedient, but hot horses. They are guided by this calculation: if they can curb a hot horse, then it will not be difficult for them to manage others. and I: wishing to be able to deal with people, I married Xanthippe, being sure that if I managed with her, it would be easy for me to communicate with all other people. This dialogue in the "Feast" is explained by the fact that Antisthenes, wishing to emphasize the wisdom of his teacher and the spiritual head of the Cynic philosophical school, specifically opposes Socrates to a person from a world hostile to the philosopher. It is no coincidence that after the appearance of the "Feast" in the philosophical schools of Greece, a new topic for rhetorical exercises was established - the comparative characteristics of Socrates and Xanthippe. During these exercises, the students had to invent dialogues between them, which completely distorted the image of the real wife of Socrates, who had nothing in common with this "philosophical", speculative Xanthippe.

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