Panacea

Panacea was the ancient Greek goddess whose name meant "all-heal." She was a daughter of Paean, either the Greek god of healing, or an aspect of Apollo, as "the healer."

English word: Our word panacea means "a cure-all."

Pandora

According to an ancient Greek myth, Pandora was the first woman. Zeus, the chief god, ordered ordered Hephaestus (Roman, Vulcan) to create her, in order to retaliate against humans, after Prometheus stole fire and gave it to men.

The myth goes on to say that Pandora received gifts from all the gods, and brought with her a jar or box she was told must never be opened. Versions of the myth vary, but the most common one says that she couldn't resist, and when she opened it, out flew all the evils that assail humanity. The only thing left inside was hope.

English word: The phrase "Pandora's box" means mixed blessings.

Prometheus

To the ancient Greeks and Romans, Prometheus was a Titan -- one of the pre-Olympian beings -- who allied himself with Zeus and the later gods in their war against the Titans. At the request of Zeus, he created the first humans from clay. Later, he stole fire from the gods and gave it to humans, a divine gift that gave them god-like powers.

To punish him, Zeus decreed that he would be chained to a rock, where every day an eagle would eat out his liver. Each night, the liver would regrow, so that the next day, Prometheus would again be punished by having the eagle eat his liver again.

English word:In English, promethean means "life-giving, daringly original, creative." A reference to Prometheus also occurs in the original title of the novel Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus, by Mary Wollstonecroft Shelley.

Pax

In the ancient Roman pantheon, Pax was the goddess of peace (Greek, Eirene). She was the embodiment of peace, who carried an olive branch and a cornucopia.

English word: From the name of this ancient goddess come our words peace and pacific.

Pegasus

In both Greek and Roman myth, Pegasus was a winged horse that sprang from the blood of Medusa at her death. Athena caught Pegasus, tamed him, and gave him to the Muses. When he struck his hoof against the ground, the Hippocrene spring, which was sacred to the Muses. Later, Pegasus became the horse of Bellerophon, the ancient Greek hero who killed the Chimera.

English word: We use Pegasus to refer to the class of mythical winged horses. Pegasus is famous as an advertising icon for a gasoline company.

Phaeton

In ancient Latin as well as Greek, Phaeton was the sun of the sun god, Helios. When Helios allowed Phaeton to drive the sun chariot, Phaeton drove so close the earth almost burned up. To prevent that, Zeus struck him down with a thunderbolt.

English word: Our word phaeton means a type of light, four-wheeled carriage with no sidepieces. It also means a type of open car body with two cross seats.

Phantasus

In ancient Greek myth, Phantasus was one of the gods of dreams, the sons of Morpheus, the god of sleep. Phantasus, in particular, brought dreams of inanimate objects.

English word: Several of our words stem from Phantasus, including phantasm -- a product of fantasy, an illusion; and phantasmagoria -- a complex, constantly shifting scene of things seen or imagined. Some common words that stem from the same source are fantasy, fancy, and fantastic.