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Pandora

Pandora

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. | 2008 | Copyright

Pandora , in astronomy, one of the named moons, or natural satellites, of Saturn . Also known as Saturn XVII (or S17), Pandora is an irregularly shaped (nonspherical) body measuring about 71 mi (114 km) by 52 mi (84 km) by 38 mi (62 km); it orbits Saturn at a mean distance of 88,050 mi (141,700 km) and has an orbital period of 0.6285 earth days. The rotational period is unknown but is assumed to be the same as the orbital period. It was discovered by a team led by S. Collins in 1980 from an examination of photographs taken by Voyager 1 during its flyby of Saturn. Pandora is more heavily cratered—with at least two of the craters being more than 18 mi (30 km) in diameter—than the nearby moon Prometheus but exhibits neither linear ridges nor valleys. Pandora is the outer shepherd satellite (a moon that limits the extent of a planetary ring through gravitational forces) of Saturn's F ring.

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Pandora

Myths and Legends of the World | 2001 | Copyright

Pandora

In Greek mythology, Pandora was the woman who brought evil into the world and caused humankind's downfall. She was sent to earth by Zeus, king of the gods, who wanted to take revenge on the Titan Prometheus*. Prometheus had created men and had stolen fire from the gods and given it to the men. Zeus ordered the divine crafts worker Hephaestus* to form the first woman, Pandora, from clay. Athena* gave life to this creation, Aphrodite* made her beautiful, and Hermes* taught her to be cunning and deceitful.

Zeus sent Pandora down to earth, but Prometheus—whose name means "forethought"—would have nothing to do with her. However, his brother Epimetheus—afterthought—married Pandora, who brought with her a sealed jar or box as a gift from the gods. Some accounts say that Epimetheus opened Pandora's box; others maintain that Pandora herself opened it. Inside the container were disease, old age, poverty, evil, war, and all the other ills that have plagued humans ever since. When the box was opened, they flew out into the world, leaving only Hope at the bottom of the box to give people a scrap of comfort. A few accounts say that the box contained all the good things that Prometheus planned to give the human race, but when Pandora gave in to curiosity and opened the box, she let all the blessings escape.

Titan one of a family of giants who ruled the earth until overthrown by the Greek gods of Olympus

Pandora and Epimetheus had a daughter, Pyrrha, who appears in a Greek myth about a great flood. Pyrrha and her husband, Deucalion, were the flood's sole survivors and became the parents of a new human race.

See also Adam and Eve; Greek Mythology; Prometheus.

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Pandora

The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable | 2006 | | Copyright

Pandora in Greek mythology, the first mortal woman. In one story she was created by Zeus and sent to earth with a jar or box of evils in revenge for Prometheus' having brought the gift of fire back to the world. Prometheus' simple brother Epimetheus married her despite his brother's warnings, and Pandora let out all the evils from the jar to infect the earth; hope alone remained to assuage the lot of humankind. In another account the jar contained all the blessings which would have been preserved for the world had they not been allowed to escape.
Pandora's box a term for a process that generates many complicated problems as the result of unwise interference in something.
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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Pandora." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Pandora." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-Pandora.html

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Pandora

A Dictionary of First Names | 2006 | | Copyright

Pandora ♀ Name borne in classical mythology by the first woman on earth, created by the fire god Hephaistos as a scourge for men in general, in revenge for Prometheus's act of stealing fire on behalf of mankind. Pandora was given as a wife to Prometheus's foolish brother Epimetheus, along with a box which she was forbidden to open. Being endowed with great curiosity, she nevertheless did open it, and unleashed every type of hardship and suffering on the world, Hope alone being left inside the box. The name itself is ironically derived from the Greek words pan ‘all, every’ + dōron ‘gift’.
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PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Pandora." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Pandora." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O41-Pandora.html

PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Pandora." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O41-Pandora.html

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Pandora

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. | 2008 | Copyright

Pandora păndôr´e , in Greek mythology, first woman on earth. Zeus ordered Hephaestus to create her as vengeance upon man and his benefactor, Prometheus. The gods endowed her with every charm, together with curiosity and deceit. Zeus sent her as a wife to Epimetheus, Prometheus' simple brother, and gave her a box that he forbade her to open. Despite Prometheus' warnings, Epimetheus allowed her to open the box and let out all the evils that have since afflicted man. Hope alone remained inside the box.

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Pandora

A Dictionary of Astronomy | 1997 | Copyright

Pandora The fourth-closest satellite of Saturn, distance 141 700 km, orbital period 0.629 days; also known as Saturn XVII. It was discovered in 1980 on images from Voyager 1, between Saturn's F and G Rings. Pandora is irregularly shaped, 110 × 88 × 62 km in size. Its lightly cratered surface appears to have a thin cover of dust, softening the outlines of craters and ridges. Pandora is the outer shepherd moon of the F Ring.
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Pandora

World Encyclopedia | 2005 | Copyright

Pandora In Greek mythology, the first woman. She was created on Zeus' orders as his revenge on Prometheus, who had created men and stolen fire from heaven for them. When she opened a great jar that Zeus had ordered her not to look into, all the evils of the human race flew out. Hope alone remained inside the jar. In later tradition, the jar became a box.
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Pandora

A Dictionary of Earth Sciences | 1999 | | Copyright

Pandora (Saturn XVII) One of the lesser satellites of Saturn, discovered in 1980 by Voyager 1, with a radius measuring 55 × 44 × 31 km; mass 0.0013 × 1020 kg; mean density 420 kg/m3; visual albedo 0.9.
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AILSA ALLABY and MICHAEL ALLABY. "Pandora." A Dictionary of Earth Sciences. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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pandora

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology | 1996 | | Copyright

pandora, pandore stringed musical instrument of the cither type. XVI. — It. †pandora, -iera, pandura — late L. pandūra — Gr. pandoûra, -doúrā three-stringed lute.
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T. F. HOAD. "pandora." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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pandora

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music | 1996 | | Copyright

pandora, pandore. See cittern.
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MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE. "pandora." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE. "pandora." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O76-pandora.html

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Pandora

Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes | 2007 | Copyright

Pandora •abhorrer, adorer, Andorra, angora, aura, aurora, bora, Bora-Bora, borer, Camorra, Cora, corer, Dora, Eleonora, Eudora, explorer, fedora, flora, fora, ignorer, Isadora, Kia-Ora, Laura, Leonora, Maura, menorah, Nora, pakora, Pandora, pourer, roarer, scorer, senhora, señora, signora, snorer, soarer, Sonora, sora, storer, Theodora, Torah, Tuscarora, Vlorë •goalscorer • cobra • okra • Oprah •Socotra • Moira • Sudra •chaulmoogra • supra •Brahmaputra, sutra •Zarathustra • Louvre • fulcra •Tripura •borough, burgh, Burra, curragh, demurrer, thorough •Rubbra •penumbra, umbra •tundra • chakra • ultra • kookaburra

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