Pandora's box – a blessing – doing among them? This objection leads some to render "elpis" as the expectation of evil, which would make the myth's tone somewhat optimistic: although mankind is troubled by all the evils in the world, at least we are spared the continual expectation of evil, which would make life unbearable. The optimistic reading of the myth is expressed by M. L. West. "Elpis" takes the more common meaning of expectant hope. And while the jar served as a prison for the evils that escaped, it thereafter serves as a residence for Hope. West explains, "It would be
Gyalpo spirits Gyalpo spirits Gyalpo spirits are one of the eight classes of haughty gods and spirits () in Tibetan mythology and religion. Gyalpo (), a word which simply means "king" in the Tibetic languages, in Tibetan mythology is used to refer to the Four Heavenly Kings () and especially to a class of spirits, both Buddhist and Bon, who may be either malevolent spirits or oath-bound as dharmapalas (). Geoffrey Samuel describes these gyalpo spirits as "king-spirits" who are "the spirits of evil kings or of high lamas who have failed their vows." He also states that they are white in