Pithos is the Greek word for the large storage jar used for Pandora’s vessel.
In Hesiod’s Works and Days, Pandora’s container is described with the noun pithos. A pithos was a large earthenware storage vessel used in ancient Greece and elsewhere around the Mediterranean. Such jars could hold agricultural products and were often much larger than the small boxes shown in popular illustrations.
The familiar English phrase “Pandora’s box” arose through later translation and cultural transmission. Because “box” is now idiomatic, many modern readers do not realize that the earliest literary account presents a jar. The pithos detail is important for understanding both the original text and the long history of its interpretation.
The other choices are also Greek vessel terms, but they designate different forms. An amphora generally has two handles and a narrower body, a krater was used for mixing wine, and a lekythos was a smaller vessel often associated with oil.