3 - The Creation of the First Woman and the Origin of Evil

Summary

This chapter examines the similarities between biblical and Greek literature regarding the story of the first woman, found in the genealogical traditions of both cultures. Many ancient Near Eastern stories describe the process of the creation of the first humans from clay, and these may have disseminated and influenced the story of the creation of the woman in biblical literature, as well as the story of Pandora (especially the description of Hephaestus as a potter, in contrast to his usual portrayal as a blacksmith). However, Near Eastern literature does not include a comparable story about the creation of the first woman as distinct from the man or one that explains the origin of evil in connection to it. In addition to the unique parallel, it transpires that the Pandora tradition was integrated into the Catalogue of Women and other Greek genealogical traditions within the same sequence as the Flood hero Deucalion.