In Hesiod’s Pandora myth, Pandora opens a jar, despite the famous English title “Pandora’s Box.”
Hesiod’s Greek text uses the word pithos, which refers to a large storage jar commonly used in the ancient Greek world. The vessel contains the troubles that subsequently spread through humanity. The word was translated as “box” in a Renaissance-era Latin tradition, helping create the expression now familiar in English.
This translation difference is one of the best-known details about the myth. Modern illustrations often show a small decorative box, but that image does not match the large earthenware storage vessel suggested by pithos.
The jar’s role is central to the story’s explanation of why suffering exists in human life. Pandora does not manufacture the evils herself; opening the container allows them to escape. The story therefore combines a creation myth with an account of human misfortune.