In Greek mythology, Pandora opened a pithos, not a box.
The Greek word pithos refers to a large storage jar, often used for grain, oil, or wine. Hesiod’s account in Works and Days describes Pandora removing the lid of such a container and releasing the evils kept inside. The vessel was therefore practical pottery rather than a small wooden chest.
The familiar phrase “Pandora’s box” arose through a long translation history. Renaissance writers and translators helped popularize the Latin word pyxis, meaning a box or small container, instead of preserving the original Greek term. English-speaking culture eventually adopted the mistranslated image so completely that the jar detail is now often overlooked.
The myth’s container is also commonly confused with a separate box invented for later artistic retellings. In the ancient story, the important action is Pandora’s opening of a sealed vessel and the escape of troubles into the human world.