In Greek mythology, what type of object was Pandora given before she opened it?

In Greek mythology, Pandora was given a storage jar before she opened it.

Hesiod’s Greek text uses the word pithos, which means a large storage jar or vessel. Such jars were used in the ancient Greek world for storing commodities, including grain, oil, and wine. The object in the original story was therefore not specifically a small box.

The familiar phrase “Pandora’s box” became standard through later translations and retellings. Erasmus’s influential Latin rendering helped establish the box wording in European tradition. That later phrase is now so widespread that many readers do not realize the ancient source described a jar.

The jar’s contents are usually summarized as the evils or troubles released into the human world, with hope remaining inside. The object’s exact translation is a language-history issue, not a change to the core mythic episode.