In Greek mythology, Pandora’s jar released evils into the world before hope remained inside.
The best-known version of the story comes from Hesiod’s Works and Days. Zeus sent Pandora to Epimetheus, and she later opened a sealed storage vessel despite instructions associated with keeping it closed. Once opened, the vessel released destructive conditions that had previously been absent from human life.
Hesiod describes the contents broadly as illnesses, toil, and other troubles rather than providing a modern catalog of individual evils. Hope, called Elpis in Greek, remained inside after Pandora closed the vessel again. The exact role of hope is debated: it may be presented as a consolation for humanity or as something deliberately withheld.
The familiar English expression “Pandora’s box” is also a later wording. Hesiod’s Greek text refers to a pithos, usually translated as a large jar or storage vessel, not a small box. The story’s central contrast is between released evils and remaining hope.