In Greek mythology, Pandora’s Box is traditionally a jar. The familiar English phrase is a later translation of the Greek story’s container, which Hesiod described as a large storage jar called a pithos.
The pithos was a substantial ceramic vessel used in the ancient Greek world for storing goods such as grain, oil, or wine. Its everyday function makes the myth’s object more recognizable in its original setting than the image of a small hinged box.
The “box” wording became established through translation history. The Renaissance scholar Erasmus translated the Greek term into Latin as pyxis, meaning a box or small container, helping create the expression used in English and many other languages.
The container is often confused with a treasure chest, but ancient artistic and literary context points to a jar. The myth’s central event is the release of troubles from that vessel, while hope remains inside.