In Hesiod’s account of Pandora, the famous container was a pithos.
A pithos was a large Greek storage jar, commonly used for commodities such as grain, oil, or wine. Hesiod used the Greek word pithos in Works and Days, his poem describing Pandora and the release of human troubles. The word was later translated or reinterpreted in European tradition as “box,” producing the familiar expression Pandora’s box.
The change matters because a pithos was not a small casket. Large storage jars could be tall, heavy, and partly buried for stability. The myth therefore originally involved a substantial household container rather than the hinged box shown in many modern illustrations.
The phrase “Pandora’s box” is now firmly established in English, even though “Pandora’s jar” is closer to Hesiod’s wording. The ancient text does not describe a modern box with a lid, lock, or decorative design.