In Greek mythology, the hope left inside Pandora’s opened jar was called Elpis.
Elpis is the Greek personification or concept of hope. In Hesiod’s Works and Days, Pandora opens the container and releases the various evils that Zeus has placed inside. The text then says that only Elpis remains within the vessel, because Pandora closes it before hope escapes.
This detail has produced centuries of debate. Some readers interpret the remaining hope as a comfort granted to humanity, while others ask whether hope is itself part of the collection of troubles. Hesiod does not provide a long explanation, so later writers and scholars have supplied different interpretations.
Elpis should not be confused with Nike, the goddess of victory, or with a named physical object. In the myth, the word identifies hope itself. The later phrase “Pandora’s box” also obscures the original story, since Hesiod’s container was a pithos, a large jar.