Danaides

American  

[duh-ney-i-deez] / dəˈneɪ ɪˌdiz /

Also Danaidae

plural noun

Classical Mythology.

1. the 50 daughters of Danaus, 49 of whom were condemned to pour water forever into a leaky vessel for having murdered their husbands.

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Danaides British  

/ ˌdænɪˈɪdɪən, dəˈneɪɪˌdiːz, ˌdænɪəˈdiːən /

plural noun

1. the fifty daughters of Danaüs. All but Hypermnestra murdered their bridegrooms and were punished in Hades by having to pour water perpetually into a jar with a hole in the bottom

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Other Word Forms

• Danaidean
  adjective

Example Sentences

Theology is truly the vessel of the Danaides.

From The System of Nature, Volume 2 by Holbach, Paul Henri Thiry, baron d'

We seemed in those infernal regions to repeat the toil of the Danaides, and to be attempting to fill the leaky vessel of society by efforts which left it as empty as before.

From The Dangerous Classes of New York And Twenty Years' Work Among Them by Brace, Charles Loring

Among the most ancient was the legend relating to the Danaides, which invest the early history of Argos with peculiar interest.

From Ancient States and Empires by Lord, John

It was like the cask of Danaides into which the public had been pleased to pour its deposits. 

From Chance A Tale in Two Parts by Conrad, Joseph

The strange and weird legends of Tantalus, Sisyphus, Ixion, Prometheus, and the Danaides, have all one common feature about them.

From Practical Religion Being Plain Papers on the Daily Duties, Experience, Dangers, and Privileges of Professing Christians by Ryle, John Charles