In Greek mythology, Elpis is the Greek name for the hope left inside Pandora’s jar. Elpis is both the ordinary Greek word for hope and the personification of hope in mythological tradition.
In Hesiod’s Works and Days, Pandora closes the container after evils escape, and hope remains inside. The text’s wording has prompted long debate because it can be read in different ways: hope may be a final comfort preserved for humans, or it may be another force kept away from them. The familiar interpretation treats hope as the beneficial thing that remains.
Elpis is not the same figure as Eris, whose name is associated with strife and discord. Nor is Elpis a goddess with an extensive independent mythology like Athena or Aphrodite. Her importance comes mainly from the Pandora episode and from the Greek practice of personifying abstract ideas.
The phrase “Pandora’s box” is a later version of the story. The ancient Greek account describes a pithos, or storage jar, and identifies the remaining hope within that vessel rather than inside a literal box.