In Greek mythology, the large jar later called Pandora’s box is a pithos.
A pithos was a substantial Greek storage jar used for commodities such as grain, wine, or oil. Hesiod uses this word for the container given to Pandora, making “Pandora’s jar” a closer description of the ancient text than “Pandora’s box.”
The modern expression developed through a translation by the Renaissance humanist Desiderius Erasmus. In a Latin version of Hesiod, Erasmus rendered the Greek vessel as pyxis, a box or small container. That choice influenced later European languages and eventually fixed “Pandora’s box” as the familiar phrase.
This translation difference matters because a large pithos carries different cultural associations from a portable jewelry box. Archaeologists have found many pithoi in the ancient Greek world, and their storage function helps explain why Hesiod chose that image. The myth’s core event remains the opening of the container and the release of evils.