In Greek mythology, Pandora’s famous jar is called a pithos. A pithos was a large ancient Greek storage vessel, commonly used for commodities such as grain, oil, or wine.
Hesiod’s original story uses the Greek word pithos rather than a word meaning a small box. The vessel’s practical storage function helps explain why the ancient narrative describes a container large enough to hold forces affecting all human life.
The English expression “Pandora’s box” developed through later translation and interpretation. Erasmus’s Latin rendering helped popularize the association with a box, and the phrase eventually became standard in English even though the ancient vessel was more like a large jar.
Other Greek ceramic terms describe different shapes. An amphora usually has two handles and a narrower body, while a krater was designed for mixing wine and water. Those vessels are not the specific container named in Hesiod’s account.