In Greek mythology, hope remained inside Pandora’s container after the other forces escaped.
Hesiod’s Works and Days says that Pandora released destructive troubles into the world, but that hope stayed within the container. The Greek word used is elpis, which can mean hope or expectation. This detail has produced centuries of debate because the story does not clearly state whether hope was kept inside as a final comfort or prevented from reaching humanity.
Modern retellings usually describe hope as the one positive thing left behind. The familiar phrase “Pandora’s box” is also a later wording: the earliest Greek version describes a jar or large storage vessel rather than a box. The question concerns the traditional mythic ending, not a universally fixed interpretation of what hope’s confinement means.