In Hesiod’s Pandora myth, hope remained inside the jar after its other contents escaped.
In Works and Days, Hesiod describes Pandora opening a container that releases the miseries affecting humanity. Hope remains inside rather than escaping with the other contents. The Greek word is elpis, commonly translated as “hope,” although scholars have debated whether the story presents it as a benefit kept for humans or as another troubling thing held back.
The popular image usually says that Pandora quickly closed the container before hope could leave. Hesiod’s wording is more compressed and does not explain every detail of the closing action. This is why modern retellings sometimes differ over whether hope is a blessing preserved for people or an evil that never reached them.
The myth is also frequently called “Pandora’s box,” but Hesiod describes a pithos, or large storage jar. The box wording developed later through translation and artistic tradition.