Pandora's Box?

I'm doing a research report, (plus a visual aid) on Pandora's box. Does anyone know any good sites about this mythology. For example, a site that can tell me, what was in the box, exactly? Why did she open it, and all of that.

I appreciate your answers, but I really need websites for this to recieve any credit. Thanks.

I found these below for you, hope they help!!
The last link had great info!!



Basic Story: Zeus, upset with the brothers Prometheus and Epimetheus for having successfully brought fire to humankind, making for all those annoying sparkling lights on the ground at night, decides to even things up by introducing disease, death, and sorrow to humankind. In the original tale these things are held in a jar, not a box. He orders Pandora to be created and gives her as a gift to Epimetheus, brother of Prometheus. She is told to never open her jar, but the gods and goddesses have also made her curious. Eventually, she opens the jar, which in some versions was not given to her by Zeus, but was instead kept locked up by Epimetheus,who did not want humankind to suffer. But in either case, the vessel is opened. Pandora realizes what she has done, but cannot slam the lid back on fast enough. The only thing left in the jar is Elpis, or Hope.

There are several variants to Pandora's tale, more than the usual for Greek myths. In one, Zeus actually sends her with great gifts for mankind rather than evils. In most tales, she is also considered to be the "First Woman", brought into a world inhabited only by gods, goddesses, and human males. In this aspect, as an original woman bringing trouble into the world, her story is similar to that of Eve.

Alternate name: In one early image she is called "Anesidora", the sender of gifts.

Interesting Fact: Pandora's name means the "one who gives all gifts" and actually has a positive connotation. In earliest times, she may have been perceived as a bountiful earth goddess whose gifts were all good.

here's a good website. (:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pandora's_B...

Out of curiosity Pandora released all the ills of the world...

Each god helped create Pandora by giving her unique gifts. Zeus ordered Hephaestus to create her as part of the punishment of mankind for Prometheus' theft of the secret of fire, and all the gods joined in offering her seductive gifts. Her other name, inscribed against her figure on a white-ground kylix in the British Museum is Anesidora, "she who sends up gifts" According to the myth, Pandora opened a jar in modern accounts referred to as "Pandora's box", releasing all the evils of mankind鈥?greed, vanity, slander, envy, pining鈥?leaving only hope inside once she had closed it again.

The myth of Pandora is very old, appears in several distinct Greek versions, and has been interpreted in many ways. In all literary versions, however, the myth is a kind of theodicy, addressing the question of why there is evil in the world. In the seventh century BC Hesiod, both in his Theogonyand in Works and Days, gives the earliest literary version of the Pandora story.

Basically, the world was a second heaven until pandora opened the box

go to www.pantheon.org it is a whole website dedicated to mythology and has extensive articles on everything, including the pandora's box myth.

Pandora: ('Gift of All') The Greek Eve, fashioned in clay by Hephaestus on Zeus' orders to punish Prometheus for having stolen fire from heaven. Her name means that each God or Goddess gave her an appropriate gift. Zeus gave her a jar/box which she must not open. She did open it, and all the evils that plague humankind came out of it. All that was left at the bottom was Hope.

Try these websites:
http://www.elysiumgates.com/mt_olympus/h...
http://www.theoi.com/Heroine/Pandora.htm...
http://www.thanasis.com/modern/pandora.h...