In Hesiod’s Greek myth, Pandora opened a pithos, rather than a box. The Greek word pithos refers to a large storage jar, commonly used for agricultural goods such as grain, oil, or wine.
The familiar “box” comes from a later translation tradition. Erasmus of Rotterdam rendered the Greek vessel with the Latin word pyxis, meaning a small box or container, helping create the expression now used in many languages.
Hesiod’s Works and Days describes Pandora lifting the lid of the vessel and releasing troubles into the world. The text does not present the object as a modern hinged box. This distinction is one of the myth’s most frequently discussed details.
The story ends with only hope remaining inside after Pandora replaces the lid. Hesiod’s account does not clearly explain whether hope was trapped or simply remained after the other evils escaped.