In Hesiod’s Greek myth of Pandora, hope remains inside the container when Pandora closes it. Hesiod uses the Greek term elpis, commonly translated as “hope,” after the other evils have escaped.
This ending has prompted long-running debate. Some readers see hope as a comfort left for humanity, while others note that Hesiod’s wording and the location of hope inside the jar allow more complicated interpretations. The myth does not explicitly explain why hope is retained.
The story is often retold as though hope escapes last. In the traditional text, however, Pandora closes the vessel before it leaves. That difference matters because the surviving hope becomes the final image of the narrative.
The container itself was a pithos, not a small box. “Pandora’s box” became the familiar phrase through later translation and cultural tradition, especially after the story entered European literature.