In Greek mythology, Zeus gave Pandora a jar to carry.
Hesiod describes the container as a pithos, a large earthenware storage jar used in the ancient Greek world. It contains the troubles that will spread among humanity when Pandora opens it. The original Greek object was therefore not a small wooden box.
The phrase “Pandora’s box” became common through later translation and retelling. The error is often connected with the Renaissance scholar Erasmus, whose Latin wording used pyxis, a term for a small box or container, instead of preserving the Greek pithos. English tradition then popularized the misleading expression.
The jar is important because it connects the myth to ordinary ancient storage vessels while also functioning symbolically as a container for suffering. Pandora’s action releases its contents, leaving one item behind.