Orithyia (Athenian) in the context of "Pandorus"

In Greek mythology, Praxithea (/ˌpræɡˈzɪθiə/; Ancient Greek: Πραξιθέα) was a name attributed to five women.

• Praxithea, a Naiad nymph. She married Erichthonius of Athens and by him had a son named Pandion I. Praxithea's sister Zeuxippe married her nephew Pandion, and to them were born Erechtheus, Butes, Procne and Philomela. She was also called Pasithea.
• Praxithea, an Athenian daughter of Phrasimus and Diogeneia, daughter of the river-god Cephissus. She became queen of Athens after marrying King Erechtheus by whom she Cecrops, Pandorus, Metion, Protogeneia, Pandora, Procris, Creusa, Oreithyia and Chthonia. Praxithea's other possible children were Orneus, Thespius, Eupalamus, Sicyon and Merope.
• Praxithea, the woman that cried out when she saw Demeter holding Metanira's son Demophon in the fires, thus preventing him from becoming immortal.
• Praxithea (or Phrasithea), daughter of Leos. Along with her sisters, Theope and Eubule, she sacrificed herself in order to save Athens. In another version, their father was the one who offered them up to sacrifice. A precinct called the Leocorium was dedicated to the worship of these three maidens at Athens.
• Praxithea, a Thespian princess as one of the 50 daughters of King Thespius and Megamede or by one of his many wives. When Heracles hunted and ultimately slew the Cithaeronian lion, Praxithea and her other sisters, except for one, all lay with the hero in a night, a week or for 50 days as their father strongly desired. Praxithea bore Heracles a son, Nephus.

In Greek mythology, Pandora (Ancient Greek: Πανδώρα, derived from πᾶν, pān, i.e. "all" and δῶρον, dōron, i.e. "gift", thus "the all-endowed", "all-gifted" or "all-giving") was the name of the following women:

• Pandora, first human woman created by the gods.
• Pandora, daughter of Deucalion and Pyrrha, and thus, granddaughter of the above figure.
• Pandora, an Athenian princess as the second eldest daughter of King Erechtheus of Athens and probably Praxithea, daughter of Phrasimus and Diogeneia. Together with her sister Protogeneia, they sacrificed herself on behalf of their country when an army came from Boeotia during the war between Athens and Eleusis. Pandora's other sisters were Procris, Creusa, Oreithyia, Chthonia, and Merope while her possible brothers were Cecrops, Pandorus, Metion, Orneus, Thespius, Eupalamus and Sicyon.

In Greek mythology, the name Chthonia (Ancient Greek: Χθονία means 'of the earth') may refer to:

• Chthonia, an Athenian princess and the youngest daughter of King Erechtheus and Praxithea, daughter of Phrasimus and Diogeneia. She was sacrificed by her father who had received a prophecy according to which he could win the imminent battle against Eumolpus only if he sacrificed his daughter. Her sisters who had sworn to kill themselves if one of them died, fulfilled their oath by throwing themselves off a cliff. According to the dictionary Suda, only two of the sisters, Protogeneia and Pandora, did commit suicide which made sense, since of the other daughters of Erechtheus, Orithyia had been abducted by Boreas, Procris married off to Cephalus, and Creusa was still a baby at the time the oath had been sworn. It was also said, however, that Chthonia married her uncle Butes, which probably indicated a version that she was not sacrificed. Her other siblings were Cecrops, Pandorus and Metion, and possibly Merope, Orneus, Thespius, Eupalamus and Sicyon.
• Chthonia, daughter of Phoroneus or of Colontas. She and her brother Clymenus were said to have founded a sanctuary of Demeter Chthonia (see below) at Hermione. In another version, Demeter, during her wanderings in search of Persephone, was ill-treated by Colontas, against which Chthonia protested. Demeter burned Colontas alive in his house, but saved Chthonia and transported her to Hermione, where she founded the aforementioned sanctuary.
• Chthonia or Phthonia (Phosthonia) one of the Alcyonides, daughters of the giant Alcyoneus. She was the sister of Alkippe, Anthe, Asteria, Drimo, Methone and Pallene. When their father Alcyoneus was slain by Heracles, these girls threw themselves into the sea from Kanastraion, which is the peak of Pellene. They were then transformed into halcyons (kingfishers) by the goddess Amphitrite.
• Chthonia, an epithet of Demeter and several other chthonic deities, such as Hecate, Nyx or Melinoe.

Chthonia was also an ancient mythical and poetical name of Crete.