Pandora’s container was originally called a pithos, a large storage jar in ancient Greek tradition.
The earliest surviving account appears in Hesiod’s Works and Days, written in the eighth or seventh century BCE. Hesiod uses the Greek word pithos, which referred to a substantial jar used for storing commodities such as grain, oil, or wine.
The familiar “box” arose through later translation and retelling. The Renaissance scholar Erasmus translated the Greek term into the Latin pyxis, meaning a small box or casket, helping establish the image now familiar in English. The change is influential but does not reflect Hesiod’s original wording.
A pithos was not a delicate jewelry box: it was a practical, often large storage vessel. The myth’s central action remains the same in both versions—Pandora opens the container and releases evils into the world, while hope remains inside.