When Prometheus stole the fire from heaven and gave it to the mortals, Zeus commissioned Hephaestus to create woman. His plan was to bring the ultimate downfall of man. Hephaestus slaved day and night molding from the earth a creature of beauty and sensuality: woman was created. Once perfectly sculpted, woman was endowed with gifts from all the great gods. Hermes gave her cunning, Aphrodite beauty, Athena wisdom and thus, endowed with these and other gifts as well as appropriately named Pandora, meaning "All Gifts"; she was delivered to man; Epimetheus, Prometheus' brother, to be exact. Prometheus, knowing Zeus' capabilities, warned his brother never to accept any gift from Zeus but Epimetheus, captivated by the beauty and pleasure he received from his newfound partner, ignored his brothers' warnings and received Pandora thankfully. Pandora was not alone, with her she carried a box molded, like her, from the earth. She was never told the contents of the box only that she must never under any circumstances open it. Day in and day out Pandora stared at the box, plagued with curiosity, which was one of her many gifts from the gods. One day as she sat alone she could take it no longer. She opened the lid slightly, as only to get a small peek of what lay inside and through that tiny crack flew all the calamities of mankind. Hunger, death, anger, jealousy, pain and hatred swarmed above her for only a second and then flew out of sight. Pandora, shocked by what she saw, immediately placed the lid back onto the box in time to stop the last and final entity from fleeing. Ellis or Hope was all that was left inside and when things were to much to bear and the evils of the world seemed overwhelming mankind always had hope.