In Greek mythology, Pandora’s opening of the vessel released evils into the world. Hesiod’s Works and Days describes destructive troubles escaping from the container and spreading among humanity.
The myth explains why human life includes suffering, illness, and hardship. Before the vessel was opened, these troubles were contained; afterward, they moved among mortals. The story belongs to a larger Greek myth about Zeus’s punishment following Prometheus’s theft of fire.
Hesiod does not present the contents as a collection of modern physical objects. They are personified or described as harmful conditions and afflictions. Elpis, usually translated as hope, remained inside the vessel after its opening.
Later retellings often simplify the episode into “all the evils of the world escaped.” That phrasing captures the broad idea, while the ancient text’s wording and interpretation are more specific and sometimes debated.