In Greek mythology, hope remained in Pandora’s jar after its troubles escaped.
Hesiod’s account in Works and Days says Pandora lifted the lid of the vessel and released the miseries that would afflict humanity. The text then says that only Hope remained inside, because Pandora closed the jar before it could leave.
The Greek word is elpis, commonly translated as “hope,” although scholars have debated whether Hesiod presents hope as a blessing, a trapped resource, or an ambiguous condition. That uncertainty comes from the poem itself: Hesiod does not explicitly explain why Hope was kept in the jar or whether humans benefit from its confinement.
The popular expression is “Pandora’s box,” but Hesiod described a jar, or pithos, not a box. The box wording became widespread through later Latin and European retellings. Hope is therefore the conventional answer to what remained after the escape, even though interpretations of its role differ.