In the later Greek version of Pandora’s story, Pandora opened a jar that released suffering into the world.
Hesiod’s surviving accounts do not use the English expression “Pandora’s box.” He describes a large storage vessel, commonly identified by the Greek word pithos. The familiar “box” wording arose much later through translation and retelling.
The vessel contained troubles or evils that had previously been kept away from humanity. Once Pandora opened it, these forces escaped. The story is therefore often remembered as an explanation for why human life includes pain, disease, toil, and other hardships.
A common mix-up is treating the container as a small wooden box. In the ancient setting, a pithos was a large ceramic storage jar, sometimes tall enough to stand nearly as high as a person. The exact contents also vary among retellings, but the container’s original form is the important historical distinction.