In Greek mythology, Zeus gave Pandora the sealed container that released the world's troubles.
The story appears most fully in Hesiod's Works and Days, composed in archaic Greece. Zeus ordered the creation of Pandora as part of his punishment of humanity after Prometheus stole fire for humans. The gods gave Pandora various gifts, and Zeus sent her to Epimetheus, Prometheus's brother.
The container was not originally described as a box. Hesiod called it a pithos, a large storage jar. Later translations and retellings changed that object into a box, producing the familiar English expression “Pandora's box.”
When Pandora opened it, illnesses, toil, and other hardships escaped into the world. Hope remained inside, although ancient commentators have debated whether its presence was comforting or ambiguous. Zeus is the clear answer because he directs Pandora's creation and dispatch in the myth.