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
Pandora Pandora In Greek mythology, Pandora (Greek: , derived from , "pān", i.e. "all" and , "dōron", i.e. "gift", thus "the all-endowed", "all-gifted" or "all-giving") was the first human woman, created by Hephaestus on the instructions of Zeus. As Hesiod related it, each god co-operated by giving her unique gifts. Her other name — inscribed against her figure on a white-ground "kylix" in the British Museum —is Anesidora (), "she who sends up gifts" ("up" implying "from below" within the earth). The Pandora myth is a kind of theodicy, addressing the question of why there is evil in the world. According