Title of the work
Country of the First Edition
Country/countries of popularity
Original Language
First Edition Date
First Edition Details
Sara Maitland, Pandora’s Box: A Three Dimensional Celebration of the Mythology of Ancient Greece, ill. Christos Kondeatis. Boston: Bullfinch Press, 1995, 64 pp.
ISBN
Genre
Mythologies
Pop-up books
Pop-up books with interactive elements*
Target Audience
Crossover
Cover
We are still trying to obtain permission for posting the original cover.
Author of the Entry:
Miriam Riverlea, University of New England, mriverlea@gmail.com
Peer-reviewer of the Entry:
Elizabeth Hale, University of New England, ehale@une.edu.au
Daniel A. Nkemleke, University of Yaoundé 1, nkemlekedan@yahoo.com
Christos Kondeatis
, b. 1948
(Illustrator)
Christos Kondeatis (1948) is an artist and illustrator with an interest in creating books with three dimensional, interactive and pop up elements. His work regularly features masks. With Sara Maitland, he created the artwork for Pandora’s Box: A Three Dimensional Celebration of the Mythology of Ancient Greece (1995) and The Ancient Egypt Pack: A Three Dimensional Celebration of Egyptian Mythology, Culture, Art, Life… (1996). He has also created books on the history of the world, bible stories, and comic book superheroes.
Bio prepared by Miriam Riverlea, University of New England, mriverlea@gmail.com
Sara Maitland
, b. 1950
(Author)
Sara Maitland is a British writer of short stories, novels and autobiographical works of non-fiction on a range of subjects, including religion, feminism, fairy tale and myth. The second of six children, she grew up in London and south west Scotland. She began studying English at Oxford University in 1968, where she met and befriended former US president Bill Clinton. Her first novel, Daughter of Jerusalem (1976) won the Somerset Maugham Award in 1978. She married a vicar and had two children. For the past two decades, she has lived alone in a remote farmhouse on an isolated moor in Galloway, Scotland. Recent works, including A Book of Silence (2010) and How to Be Alone: The School of Life (2013), have explored her experience of solitude and silence.
Sources:
Official website (accessed: October 20, 2020).
Kate Kellaway, Sara Maitland: 'My subconscious was cleverer than my conscious in choosing to live alone', theguardian.com, published February 2, 2014 (accessed: October 20, 2020).
Bio prepared by Miriam Riverlea, University of New England, mriverlea@gmail.com
Summary
"Open this box…and enter a world of marvels" invites the blurb of Maitland and Kondeatis’ Pandora’s Box. Fastened with a golden ribbon, the book/box opens to reveal hidden compartments, pop up pages, and other interactive elements alongside a textual commentary of the myths, culture and history of the ancient Greek world. It includes a labelled portrait of the major Olympians with their symbols and accoutrements and a map of Odysseus’ wanderings. On one page looms a pop up wooden horse; next to it nestles a tiny bound book summarising Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey. In another secret flap is a three dimensional model of an ancient amphitheatre that can be lifted out. There is a tiny pop-up labyrinth, fold-out model of the Parthenon, and an oracle with real prophecies from the Temple of Apollo at Delphi.
The box also includes a board game with black and red counters. The explanation notes that though there is little archaeological evidence for board games, their appearance on vase paintings, including the famous scene with Achilles and Ajax, reveals their popularity. There are suggestions for games of varying complexity, from simple Tic-Tac-Toe to a memory game based on the Twelve Labours of Heracles.
Kondeatis is a renowned maker of masks, and the collection includes two masks to construct, resembling Aphrodite and Zeus. The mask pieces are die-cut and printed on stiff cardboard with numerous numbered tabs to glue together in order to fashion a three dimensional shape. With strong brows and flowing beard, the face of Zeus is modelled on the visage of the Artemisian Bronze, and the greenish colour of the mask evokes the hue of that metal. Coloured in a warmer shade of brown, Aphrodite’s mask is more delicate, with her attractive face framed by tendrils of hair.
Buried deep under the other layers of activities is a small paperback volume entitled Pandora’s Book, which summarises the major myths and mythic figures, ancient sources and connections with other cultures. It also engages with the reception of the classical tradition. There are sections on "Myths in Modern Space", on the use of mythological names in astronomy, "Myths in Modern Language", detailing how terms like atlas, cereal, and echo have entered the English vernacular, excerpts from poems of Kipling, Keats, Tennyson, among others.
Analysis
In the original myth, Pandora opens the box to unleash untold evil into the world. This version is very different, but the enticing, mysterious quality of the vessel remains the same. Maitland and Kondeatis’ box invites the reader to engage in a tactile encounter with the myths and history of ancient Greece. Elements of surprise, enchantment and opportunities for hands on play and manipulation combine to bring the stories to life. The box is a treasure trove, and the blurb reveals that Pandora’s name translates as "all the gifts", glossing over the negative outcome of the narrative.
Kondeatis employs a range of artistic styles in the various pieces inside the box. The map of Odysseus’ wanderings is rendered in the style and palette of archaic vase painting, while the family portrait of the Olympians is colourful and romantic. The masks of Zeus and Aphrodite are the most striking visual element of the collection, though the kits themselves look fiddly and complicated.
Maitland’s text is engaging and accessible. Her commentary ranges from the myths to the real life rituals and traditions which underpin them. She blends storytelling with commentary, highlighting the resonance and relevance of prominent themes of love, journeys, and transformation. She writes that the "myths that framed the great classical culture of Greece are still alive. To know more of these myths is to know more about ourselves and our world."
