In Greek mythology, Pandora opened a storage jar, represented by the Greek word pithos.
A pithos was a large ceramic vessel used in the ancient Greek world for storing commodities such as grain, wine, and olive oil. Hesiod’s Works and Days uses the word pithos for the container associated with Pandora. The object was therefore much closer to a household or agricultural storage jar than to a small modern box.
The phrase “Pandora’s box” became standard in English through a long history of translation and artistic retelling. The Latin writer Erasmus helped popularize the box wording in the sixteenth century, and later European literature and art reinforced it. The original Greek image, however, is a large jar.
The distinction matters because the vessel’s size and ordinary storage function connect the myth to domestic life. Pandora’s action is not the opening of a treasure chest but the removal of a lid from a container holding forces that spread suffering among humans.