In Hesiod’s Pandora myth, Pandora released evils when she opened the sealed jar. Works and Days describes destructive troubles escaping into the human world after the container was opened.
The story explains the presence of suffering among mortals through a divine punishment connected with Prometheus’ theft of fire. Hesiod lists burdens such as disease and exhausting labor among the troubles that spread after the jar was opened. The myth is etiological: it offers a traditional explanation for why life includes hardship.
Modern versions often say Pandora released “all the evils,” although translations vary in wording. The crucial point is that the jar contains harmful conditions or afflictions, not monsters or physical objects. The familiar title “Pandora’s box” is also a later transformation of Hesiod’s jar.