In Greek mythology, what type of vessel was Pandora’s container?

In Greek mythology, Pandora’s container was a pithos, a large storage jar. Hesiod’s Works and Days uses the Greek term pithos rather than describing a small hinged box.

A pithos was a substantial ceramic vessel used in the ancient Greek world for storing commodities such as grain, oil, or wine. Its size and practical function make it very different from the compact box shown in many modern illustrations.

The familiar phrase “Pandora’s box” developed through later translation and retelling. The Renaissance humanist Erasmus rendered the vessel with a Latin word associated with a container or box, helping establish the expression that became standard in European languages.

The distinction matters because the container is one of the myth’s most famous details, yet the popular image is not the original Greek object. “Box” is now the canonical English phrase, while “pithos” identifies the vessel in Hesiod’s account.