Hope remained inside Pandora’s container after its other contents escaped.
In Hesiod’s Works and Days, Pandora opens the container and releases the troubles that affect human life. The account ends with hope remaining inside, although the exact meaning of that detail has been debated since antiquity. The Greek word is elpis, commonly translated as hope or expectation.
Readers disagree about whether hope is presented as a blessing preserved for humanity or as something withheld inside the sealed vessel. Hesiod does not explain the symbolism in a way that settles the question. That ambiguity is one reason the ending has generated so many later interpretations.
Modern retellings usually say that hope was the one good thing left behind for people. This is a familiar interpretation, but it should not obscure the fact that the ancient text is more concise and less explicit. The secure factual point is that hope remains in the container after the other evils have escaped.