In Hesiod’s account of Pandora, human evils escaped into the world when the container was opened.
The Greek poet Hesiod describes destructive forces or evils spreading among humanity after Pandora opens the container. These troubles explain why human life includes disease, toil, suffering, and other hardships. The story functions as a mythic account of the origin of misery rather than as a scientific explanation.
The familiar English phrase “Pandora’s box” is itself a later development. Hesiod’s earliest surviving version uses a large storage jar, not necessarily a small box. The word “evils” is also a translation choice: translators may use terms such as woes, ills, or sorrows. Despite those differences, the central event remains the same: harmful conditions that had been contained become part of human existence.