The King looked
from his throne at the jar, left there this morning by parties unknown. Covered in the markings of the temple of
Zeus, he studied it himself for a full morning, the whole thing sealed but with
the occasional knocking within of something alive. With no trust of the men who
worship Zeus to give him anything other than more requests for sacrifices,
he determined to solve the riddle himself.
He
summoned his men of medicine and they looked upon the jar, decreeing that
nothing that lived could survive for long within the world, but anything that
could be contained within a jar of this size would surely be a small animal or
something of no significance.
He
summoned his men of science to look at it and they came to him with puzzlement
upon their faces, for there was neither hinge nor lid upon the pottery,
whatever was within had surely been in there when the pottery had been cast,
for the jar was seamless in its construction, and the presence of something
moving within it would have caused too much stress, both on the pottery when it
was being cast, and the living creature within.
With a
heavy heart, he summoned the devotees of Zeus and bade them tell him of the
meaning of the Jar. It was early in the evening when the Oracle deemed it
necessary to rouse himself from his bed and attend the king.
Upon
sight of the vase, the Oracle fell to his knees before it.
“Zeus
favours you, my lord,” The oracles tone was reverent, his eyes held the edge of
obsession within them. “This is the Jar of Pandora.”
“The Jar
that contained the hope the gods denied the world?”
“The gods
did not deny the world hope”, the Oracle was indignant “They gave us something
that we could strive to be worth of and now Zeus has sent this to you, that you
can be the one who brings hope back to the world. This is a mighty blessing Sire.”
“I have
never believed in your gods, Oracle, why would they choose to give me such a
blessing?”
“It is
not for us to question the will of the gods, we must open the jar and give
Zeus’ gift to the people.”
“I will
consider what to do and make my decision in the morning.”
The
Oracle paused in his reverie of the Jar
“Sire,
you cannot withhold the blessing of the gods from the people.”
“Was this
given to me Oracle?”
“It was
Sire.”
“Then it
is for me to decide what to do with the gift that Zeus has given me is it not?”
“It is
Sire.”
“Then
wait for the morning and you will have my decision.”
The
Oracle’s eyes narrowed and he bowed low, leaving the room without paying the
proper respect to the king.
It was
early in the morning, the clouds gone from the sky allowing the gods to look
down from Olympus through the lights of the stars. The guards upon the walls of the castle
watched as a crowd gathered upon the courtyard below, at their head, the Oracle
of Zeus. The captain of the guard called
his men to the fore and went out to parley with the mob.
“You
cannot be here,” His voice calm with the knowledge of twenty years of dealing
with mobs “You are ordered to disperse.”
“On whose
authority,” the Oracle stepped forwards from the crowd.
“On the
authority of the king, whose land you tread upon now.”
“I am
here from a higher authority, and he orders that we enter the palace now.”
“And
whose authority is this?”
“That of
Zeus, Lord of the gods and ruler on high.”
“The gods
hold no sway here, men are ruled by their own laws, not those of uncaring
deities.”
“You
would do well to step aside and not impede the servants of Zeus, we come here
to accept his gift to us.”
“You will disperse.” The Captain raised his
hand and archers upon the walls drew back their bows
“Your men
will not shoot me,” The Oracle spread his arms wide “For today Zeus sent us the
gift of Hope.”
The
oracle dropped his arms and the captain fell to the ground with a hundred
arrows in his back. The Oracle looked up
to the archers and raised his arms in silent benediction.
That and they all worship at my temple…
The King
rose from his chamber as the sounds of fighting could be heard within the
castle, he gathered his guard to him and marched upon the throne room as the
mob clustered around the Oracle, now stood upon the Throne as he raised the Jar
above his head.
“I warned
you that no man may withhold the gifts of the gods.” The Oracle called to him
“Now we will share the bounty that you sought to hold for yourself.”
“NO,” The
King shouted as the Oracle brought down the Jar, shattering it into pieces upon
the floor.
The mob
stood silently as the Oracle sifted through the remains of the Jar
“It’s
empty…” he said “There’s nothing within the jar.”
Around
him, the mob milled aimlessly, the gift of the gods had been promised to them
and now they had broken the laws of the king and would surely be sentenced to
death. But the king himself was looking
around at the palace without concern.
“Shall we
punish these murderers sire?” The guard asked
“There is
no need, we have the blessing of the gods now, we can hope that tomorrow they
will be better.” The King smiled and walked to the Oracle
“But
there was nothing within the Jar, Sire” the Oracle looked confused.
“But
there was Oracle, now we have hope that the world will improve, you may all go
home, I will hope that you and I do not have such a disagreement again.”
The next
day came, no one arrived for work, no one attended for prayer and in his
chambers, the Oracle understood. Before, everyone had simply hoped that someone
else would do it for them, but without real hope, they had eventually got up
and done what they needed to themselves.
Now armed with the hope given by almighty Zeus, they knew that the hope
would be fulfilled, and so lounged in their houses waiting for the gods to
deliver what they hadn’t worked for.
Zeus
looked down from Olympus without concern, the ants had long been beneath his
notice and he no longer had the stress of having to address their ongoing pleas.
