Penelope
芬妮女性名，是“奥德赛”中忠诚妻子的名字，源自希腊语 Pēnelopē， Pēnelopeia，可能与 pēne “卷轴上的线”有关，源自 pēnos “网”，与拉丁语 pannus “布料”同源（见 pane（n.））。但 Beekes 认为它与 pēnelops “有彩色颈部的鸭或野鹅”有关。在英语中，它被用作贤妻的代表（1580年），就像在拉丁语中一样。
Penelope, the daughter of Icarus, was a rare and perfect example of chastity. For though it was generally thought that her husband Ulysses was dead, since he had been absent from her twenty years; yet, neither the desires of her parents, nor the solicitations of her lovers, could prevail on her to marry another man, and to violate the promises of constancy which she gave to her husband when he departed. And when many noblemen courted her, and even threatened her with ruin, unless she declared which of them should marry her, she desired that the choice might be deferred till she had finished the piece of needle-work about which she was then employed: but undoing by night what she had worked by day, she delayed them till Ulysses returned and killed them all. Hence came the proverb, "To weave Penelope's web;" that is, to labour in vain; when one hand destroys what the other has wrought. [Andrew Tooke, "The Pantheon, Representing the Fabulous Histories of the Heathen Gods and Most Illustrious Heroes, in a Plain and Familiar Method," London: 1824]
伊卡洛斯的女儿佩内洛普是贞洁的罕见完美榜样。虽然人们普遍认为她的丈夫尤利西斯已经死了，因为他离开她已经二十年了，但是，她的父母的要求和情人的请求都不能让她嫁给另一个男人，违背她离开时对丈夫的忠诚承诺。当许多贵族追求她，甚至威胁她，除非她宣布哪一个人会娶她，她要求将选择推迟，直到她完成当时正在从事的针线活。但是，她在晚上解开了白天所做的工作，拖延了他们，直到尤利西斯回来并杀死了他们所有人。因此，有谚语“编织佩内洛普的网”； 也就是说，徒劳无功； 当一只手破坏了另一只手所做的工作时。