| Pandora | prop. n. [ L., fr. Gr. Pandw`ra; pa^s, pa^n, all + dw^ron a gift. ] 1. (Class. Myth.) A beautiful woman (all-gifted), whom Jupiter caused Vulcan to make out of clay in order to punish the human race, because Prometheus had stolen the fire from heaven. Jupiter gave Pandora a box containing all human ills, which, when the box was opened, escaped and spread over the earth. Hope alone remained in the box. Another version makes the box contain all the blessings of the gods, which were lost to men when Pandora opened it. [ 1913 Webster ] 2. (Zool.) A genus of marine bivalves, in which one valve is flat, the other convex. [ 1913 Webster ] |
