Brain Teasers
Gift to Epimethius
Riddle
Riddles are little poems or phrases that pose a question that needs answering. Riddles frequently rhyme, but this is not a requirement.Riddle
I had a mistress, with beauty and grace,
With a curious hand and fair of face.
She was the first on earth, and made of clay.
I was a gift to Epimethius on their wedding day.
The Gods, they warned her to let me be.
But none of their warnings did she heed.
You see, my mistress was alone one day,
When to me her inquisitive hand did stray.
She gave you sickness, destruction, and greed,
And all of the things from which evil does feed.
But do not be angry, do not mope.
The last she gave you? It was hope.
What am I and who was my mistress?
With a curious hand and fair of face.
She was the first on earth, and made of clay.
I was a gift to Epimethius on their wedding day.
The Gods, they warned her to let me be.
But none of their warnings did she heed.
You see, my mistress was alone one day,
When to me her inquisitive hand did stray.
She gave you sickness, destruction, and greed,
And all of the things from which evil does feed.
But do not be angry, do not mope.
The last she gave you? It was hope.
What am I and who was my mistress?
Answer
The poem is written from the point of view of Pandora's Box; "my mistress" refers to Pandora.According to Greek mythology, Pandora was created out of clay. Before Pandora, there were only men on earth. Pandora was fashioned by Zeus as part of his punishment for Prometheus' theft of the secret of fire. She was gifted with beauty, grace, musical talent and a gift for healing. Finally, Zeus gave her curiosity. He gave her as a gift to Epimethius and presented the box as her dowry, telling them both not to open it. Pandora's curiosity got the better of her and she opened the box releasing all the evil that is in the world today. However, some good came from it; at the bottom of the box was hope.
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Comments
Pandora's Box, cool.
Good, hard riddle
Hey I actually found this one to be easy, but I already knew alot about Pandora's box so that's probably why. Anyway I liked it, great job.
I found this one to be easier, as well, but the idea of the clue-giver being an inanimate object is a clever twist.
I just learned about this at school today so it was pretty easy.
I agree with Katelin. If you know this, its pretty easy. and this is a common myth
Pretty close to Eve and the apple! Interesting .. nice poetry!
awsome riddle, really well written, but a bit easy
A good riddle, but the answer is clear even on the first line if you know who Epimethius is.
I got it YEAH Good teaser
i got it!!!!!!!!! yeah!!!!!!!!! (i might have only gotten it because i'm greek!!!!!!!!!!!! GREEKS ROCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) love pandora too. thinks she's awesome. GREAT GREAT GREAT teaser!!! love it!!!
Very creative and very well written. Enjoyed this one and especially enjoyed the poetry.
Nice teaser....very well written and the poetic construction was a nice bonus.
I knew it at the back of my head... I read about Pandora, but I just forgot her name!!! good teaser - going in my favs
I got it once I looked up who Epimethius was Very good! Keep em coming
very clever i loved it keep it up
Excellent!
Excellent teaser! It was a bit obvious after I read line 9.
Excellent! Very well done!
Good Riddle. I got it right off because I know a bunch of Greek mythology, but didn't know the clay part. That was interesting to find out. The only problem I have is that I thought that when Pandora opened the box and all the bad things came out, she shut the box and the only thing that remained was Hope. Hope was left trapped in the box. She opened the box to let it out? Never heard that part of the myth. But I liked it.
Actually, Pandora closed the box fast enough to keep hope in. To the ancient mind, hope was the worst of all evils. Hope was a trick of the gods to make man dissatified with his lot in life. And since it was believed that one's lot in life could rarely, if ever be changed (for the better), it was worse than any of the other evils. Rather like the notion that connection with deity was to be avoided whenever possible. If the god knew you existed, they could do terrible things to you. Only heroes and kings were exempt.
Wonderfully written! Going into my favorites!
Really nice teaser, well written, very informative. Enjoyed it a lot. Thanks for posting.
Great poem I loved it.
I did notice that the title is spelled wrong. Other than that, it's very cool. Sending this out to my friends. Thanks!
I did notice that the title is spelled wrong. Other than that, it's very cool. Sending this out to my friends. Thanks!
Yay =D great teaser. i recognized it cause the last she got was hope, and that was in the poem. So i got it right =D
Don't know much about Greek Mythology so I didn't get it. Good teaser though.
Amazing. Easy, Awesome, and totally outright MYTHICAL!! And I thought it to be impossible. I liked it, so much IWANTCAFFINE!!!!!
I wasn't going to say anything, but you know once you open the box...
People often misrender the myth so that it ends with hope being released last, as this makes the most immediate sense. After all, the contents of the jar had no effect on mankind as long as they remained inside. However all the Greek texts we have state that hope remained inside.
What is less consistent in different versions is whether the jar contained curses or blessings, and whether the jar imprisoned them from mankind or secured them for mankind's benefit.
If they were blessings which would escape mankind as they left the safety of the jar, then the remaining hope is the only blessing left to us. (The name "Pandora", or "AllGifts," does rather support this more ancient version.)
If they were all curses, including the hope left locked away, that leaves the more difficult reading that we actually do NOT have that hope. Furthermore, it suggests that the jar imprisons not the optimistic type of hope (which we KNOW we have), but the most pessimistic kind of dread imaginable, i.e., the worst evil. Thank goodness for small mercies.
People often misrender the myth so that it ends with hope being released last, as this makes the most immediate sense. After all, the contents of the jar had no effect on mankind as long as they remained inside. However all the Greek texts we have state that hope remained inside.
What is less consistent in different versions is whether the jar contained curses or blessings, and whether the jar imprisoned them from mankind or secured them for mankind's benefit.
If they were blessings which would escape mankind as they left the safety of the jar, then the remaining hope is the only blessing left to us. (The name "Pandora", or "AllGifts," does rather support this more ancient version.)
If they were all curses, including the hope left locked away, that leaves the more difficult reading that we actually do NOT have that hope. Furthermore, it suggests that the jar imprisons not the optimistic type of hope (which we KNOW we have), but the most pessimistic kind of dread imaginable, i.e., the worst evil. Thank goodness for small mercies.
To all of you who think the poem is great I see lines 5 and 6 do not rhyme. Otherwise it is pretty good and the meter is better than usual. The quiz is good as well and it was easy for all of us that know mythology. If you do not then it is not so easy.
Very beautifully written.
Nicccccccceeeee one
I liked the poem and I liked the teaser. That's the beauty of poetry - it can rhyme or not; it can be lyrical or not. The clues were good and I remembered the story of Pandora's Box. Have a great day and remember to keep smiling. Tell the people you love that you love them - I just did!
I'm just wondering where it is written that poetry has to rhyme? Must have missed that memo, and so for that matter have MANY world renowned poets. One of my favorite poems of all time "Fern Hill" does not rhyme and yet it is taught the world over and it's author considered a great poet.
Then of course we can take into consideration POETIC LICENSE which allows for similar sounding (but not quite rhyming) words to be paired.
Whether the rhyme was perfect or not and whether the metre was off or not last I checked this is a TRIVIA and BRAINTEASER site NOT a creative writing class or Poetry Slam (somewhere else yo'd hear a lot of poems that dont' rhyme).
Then of course we can take into consideration POETIC LICENSE which allows for similar sounding (but not quite rhyming) words to be paired.
Whether the rhyme was perfect or not and whether the metre was off or not last I checked this is a TRIVIA and BRAINTEASER site NOT a creative writing class or Poetry Slam (somewhere else yo'd hear a lot of poems that dont' rhyme).
i absolutely LOVE Greek myths! they r so awesome! once i read Epimethius, i knew it had Greek myths in it, and with the gift, i knew it was Pandora or her box
I got this one right away. I remembered it from High School Latin class! (That was only about 60 years ago). It's kind of weird how a person can remember some things and forget so much! Nice teaser
First comment in 2014? I guessed this one right
away. I loved this story too.
away. I loved this story too.
Oh I guess the cat lady beat me to it! I'm in good company!
Easy peasy but very nice, intellectual, teaser!
When poetry does not rhyme, it is called Prose.
Very easy, but absolutely beautiful. Well done.
I don't know very much about mythology, but I just happened to know this one. I think most people have hear of Pandora's Box. Nicely written poem, good story telling.
Very enjoyable. Not at the top of my teaser list, but saved aside in my cool stuff bucket because it was so nicely written.
I just happen to love that story, and got it right away! This was beautifully written!
I admit I web-searched "Epimethius" and from there figured out the riddle was referring to Pandora and her box. I was intrigued by how much this myth parallels the Biblical story of Adam and Eve and the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge. The difference between good and evil is a timeless universal concept among all faiths and cultures.
Fun, easy and entertaining teaser. I got it very quickly though I enjoyed this well written teaser.
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