Kakoi is the Greek term used for the evils or troubles released from Pandora’s vessel.
The Greek word kakoi is the plural of kakos, meaning “bad,” “evil,” or “wrong.” In discussions of Hesiod’s account, it identifies the harmful forces that escape when Pandora opens the pithos. These forces explain why disease, labor, suffering, and other hardships affect human life in the mythic worldview.
The story is often summarized as if the container held a single substance called evil, but the ancient narrative presents a collection or multitude of harmful conditions. Hope, or Elpis, is treated separately in the passage and remains inside when Pandora closes the vessel.
Kakoi should not be confused with the Moirai, the Fates, or the Keres, supernatural figures associated with destiny and violent death. Those names belong to different parts of Greek mythology. The term is specialized, so translations more commonly say “evils” or “miseries” rather than preserve the Greek word.