In Hesiod’s Pandora myth, the vessel often translated as her “box” is a pithos.
The Greek word pithos means a large storage jar, commonly used for grain, oil, or wine. Hesiod’s Works and Days says Pandora received a large jar, but it does not describe a small box in the modern sense.
The familiar “box” wording developed through a Latin translation associated with Erasmus. His choice of the Latin word pyxis, meaning box or casket, helped establish the expression Pandora’s box in European languages.
This translation history explains a common mix-up: the ancient Greek object was a pithos, while the box is the later conventional image. Ancient storage jars could be large enough for household supplies and were often made of pottery.