A child born to Zeus and Hera was Hephaistos, the God of fire, forge and universal creation. Zeus asked Him to create a perfect companion for man, and to give beauty from Aphrodite, curiosity from Zeus, and speech from Hermes, and it was this God who gave the woman her name, Pandora (meaning all gifts). In addition, Apollon taught her to sing, and Demeter taught her to garden; Poseidon gave her pearls from the sea.
She was so named, obviously, because the highest Gods had each given her something of immense value. Thus, women have all the gifts of the Gods. The final one, however, was a box which held all of the world's ills, that had been gathered up and imprisoned. She was told to never open it. Pandora would give birth to a daughter named Pyrrha, by the brother of Prometheus, whom they both loved dearly.
For many years, she had many suitors, and lived a wonderful life. But she could never take her mind off the box the Gods had given her, eventually losing her battle with resistance and opening it. All of its contents were released into the world, but there was one occupant that came out harboring good, and She was Elpis, the Hope of the world. And because man would always have Hope, they could weather all ills.
