In Hesiod’s Greek myth, Pandora opened a jar to release troubles into the world.
The earliest surviving literary accounts use the Greek word pithos, which means a large earthenware storage jar. Such jars were used in the ancient Mediterranean for commodities including grain, oil, and wine. The vessel in the myth is therefore substantially different from the small hinged box suggested by the modern English phrase.
Hesiod’s Works and Days says that Pandora lifted the lid, allowing evils to escape. Hope remained inside, although the passage has generated centuries of discussion about whether hope was being preserved for humanity or prevented from escaping. The text does not provide a simple modern moral statement.
The “box” wording became established through later translation and artistic tradition. Erasmus’s Latin rendering used pyxis, a small box, helping shape the phrase that became standard in European languages. The jar remains the more historically precise answer for Hesiod’s version.