In Hesiod’s Greek myth, what did Pandora open?

In Hesiod’s Greek myth, Pandora opened a jar. The original Greek word is pithos, a large storage vessel, rather than a small modern box.

The container held evils or troubles that then escaped into the world. Hesiod’s Works and Days describes Pandora lifting the lid, after which the contents spread among humanity. Hope remained inside, although the exact meaning of that detail has been debated.

The familiar phrase “Pandora’s box” arose much later through translation history. The Renaissance scholar Erasmus translated pithos into Latin as pyxis, meaning box, helping establish the wording used in many modern languages.

This is why modern illustrations commonly show a wooden box even though the earliest surviving literary version specifies a jar. “Pandora’s jar” is therefore closer to the ancient Greek story.