In Hesiod’s Greek myth, Pandora opened a jar to release suffering into the world.
The ancient Greek poet Hesiod described Pandora’s container as a large storage jar, called a pithos, not a small wooden box. In the story, Zeus had Pandora bring the vessel to Epimetheus, who accepted her despite Prometheus’s warning not to accept gifts from Zeus.
Later translations changed the jar into a box. The influential Latin writer Erasmus used the Latin word pyxis, meaning box, in the 16th century, helping create the familiar expression “Pandora’s box.” The modern phrase therefore reflects a translation history rather than Hesiod’s original object.
The container’s contents are usually described as illnesses, hardships, and other evils. Hope is traditionally said to remain inside after Pandora closes the vessel, although interpretations differ about whether this means humanity received hope or was denied it.