Elpis in antiquity. Hesiod closes with this moral (105): "Thus it is not possible to escape the mind of Zeus." The asteroid 59 Elpis is named after her. Notes Citations Bibliography Elpis In Greek mythology, Elpis () is the personification and spirit of hope (usually seen as an extension to suffering by the Greeks, not as a god), perhaps a child of Nyx and mother of Pheme, the goddess of fame, renown and rumor. She was depicted as a young woman, usually carrying flowers or a cornucopia in her hands. In Hesiod's "Works and Days", Elpis was the last item in
Pandora and is compared to the other attributes of vanity surrounding her (fine clothes, jewellery, a pot of gold coins). Again, Pietro Paolini’s lively Pandora of about 1632 seems more aware of the effect that her pearls and fashionable headgear is making than of the evils escaping from the jar she holds. There is a social message carried by these paintings too, for education, no less than expensive adornment, is only available to those who can afford it. But an alternative interpretation of Pandora’s curiosity makes it merely an extension of childish innocence. This comes out in portrayals of Pandora as