In Hesiod’s account of Pandora, the Greek name for the hope left in her container is Elpis. Elpis is the personified or abstract figure translated into English as “Hope.”
Hesiod’s account uses the language of the ancient Greek religious and poetic world, where qualities and forces could be treated as divine or quasi-divine beings. Elpis is therefore more than a casual reference to optimism; the name identifies a significant concept at the end of the narrative.
Readers often know the English word “hope” but not the Greek name behind it. Elpis is also associated with the wider Greek cultural idea of expectation, so translations can differ in nuance. Nevertheless, Elpis is the standard proper name used in reference works for the hope in Pandora’s vessel.
The name should not be confused with Nike, the personification of victory, or Eris, the goddess associated with strife. Those figures belong to other mythological contexts.