=Pando´ra.= A celebrated woman; the first mortal female that ever lived,
according to Hesiod. She was made of clay by Vulcan, and having received
life, all the gods made presents to her. Venus gave her beauty and the
art of pleasing; the Graces gave her the power of captivating; Apollo
taught her how to sing, and Mercury instructed her in eloquence. Jupiter
gave her a beautiful box, which she was ordered to present to the man
who married her. This was Epithemeus, brother of Prometheus, who opened
the box, from which issued a multitude of evils, which became dispersed
all over the world, and which from that fatal moment have never ceased
to affect the human race. Hope alone remained at the bottom of the box.
=Pan´sa, C. Vib´ius.= A Roman consul, who, with Hirtius, pursued the
assassins of Cæsar, and was killed in a battle near Mutina.
=Pan´theon.= A celebrated temple at Rome, built by Agrippa in the reign of
Augustus, and dedicated to all the gods.
=Par´cæ.= The Fates, powerful goddesses who presided over the birth and
life of mankind. They were three in number, Clotho, Lachesis, and
Atropos, daughters of Nox and Erebus, according to Hesiod, or, according
to what he says in another place, of Jupiter and Themis.
=Par´is.= The son of Priam, king of Troy, and Hecuba; he was also called
Alexander. He was destined before his birth to cause the ruin of his
country, and before he was born his mother dreamt that he would be a
torch which would set fire to her palace. The soothsayers predicted that
he would be the cause of the destruction of Troy. In consequence of
these foretold calamities Priam ordered a slave to destroy the child
immediately after birth, but instead of acting thus the slave exposed
the child on Mount Ida, where some shepherds found him and took care of
him. Paris gave early proofs of courage, and his graceful countenance
recommended him to OEnone, a nymph of Ida, whom he married. At the
marriage of Peleus and Thetis, the goddess of discord, who had not been
invited, showed her displeasure by throwing into the assembly of the
gods, who were at the nuptials, a golden apple, on which were the words:
Let it be given to the fairest. The apple was claimed by Juno, Venus,
and Minerva. Paris, who had been appointed to award it to the most
beautiful of the three goddesses, gave it to Venus. Subsequently Paris
visited Sparta, where he persuaded Helen, wife of Menelaus, the most
beautiful woman of the age, to elope with him. This caused the Trojan
war. Different accounts are given of the death of Paris. By some he is
said to have been killed by one of the arrows of Philoctetes which had
once belonged to Hercules.
=Parme´nio.= A celebrated general in the armies of Alexander the Great, by
whom he was regarded with the greatest affection. The firm friendship
which existed between the two generals was broken in a sudden fit of
anger by Alexander, who ordered his friend to be put to death, B.C. 330.
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