Pandrosus (or
Pandrosos;
English translation: "the all-dewy one") was a figure in
Greek mythology, and a daughter of
Cecrops (or, according to
Pausanias, of
Actaeus). According to
Apollodorus,
Hephaestus attempted to rape
Athena but was unsuccessful. His semen fell on the ground, impregnating
Gaia, who gave birth to
Erichthonius, the future king of
Athens. Gaia did not want the infant, so she gave it to Athena. Athena in turn put the baby in a small box and gave it to the three sisters,
Herse, Pandrosus, and
Aglaurus, warning them to never open it. Aglaurus and Herse opened the box despite these instructions, went insane at the sight, and threw themselves off the
Acropolis. An alternative version of the same story is that, while Athena was away from Athens, bringing a mountain from
Pallena to use in the Acropolis, the sisters, minus Pandrosus again, opened the box. A crow witnessed the opening and flew away to tell Athena, who fell into a rage and dropped the mountain (now
Mt. Lykabettos). As in the first version, Herse and Aglaurus went insane and threw themselves off a cliff to their deaths. Pandrosus and
Hermes later had a son,
Ceryx.