In Greek mythology, the evils escaped from Pandora’s jar before hope. Hesiod’s Works and Days says that Pandora lifted the lid, releasing the troubles intended to afflict humanity.
The story describes the vessel as holding destructive forces rather than ordinary physical objects. Hesiod names illnesses and other hardships among the miseries that spread through the world after the container was opened. Pandora then replaced the lid before everything inside could escape.
This sequence is important because popular retellings often summarize the myth as “Pandora released all the evils and left hope behind.” The exact interpretation of hope has been debated by classical scholars, but the narrative consistently places the evils among the contents that escaped when the vessel was opened.
The familiar English expression says “Pandora’s box,” although Hesiod’s original Greek word was pithos, usually understood as a large storage jar or vessel.