In Hesiod’s myth of Pandora, hope remained inside the vessel after all the evils escaped.
Hesiod describes Pandora opening a large storage vessel, traditionally called a jar rather than a small box. Once opened, the vessel releases destructive forces and hardships that had previously been kept away from humanity. Pandora closes it before one final thing escapes: elpis, usually translated into English as “hope.”
The meaning of this detail has been debated since antiquity. Some readers interpret hope as a comfort preserved for humans, while others note that the Greek wording and the vessel’s function allow more complicated interpretations. The story does not explicitly explain whether hope is a blessing trapped inside or another force held back from the world.
Modern summaries usually present the surviving hope as the myth’s optimistic conclusion. The phrase “Pandora’s box” is also a later form of the story: Hesiod’s original object was a pithos, a large storage jar. The familiar wording became standard through translation and later retellings.