In Hesiod’s Pandora myth, the container’s ancient Greek name was pithos.
A pithos was a large storage jar used in the ancient Greek world for commodities such as grain, oil, or wine. It was substantially different from the small hinged box suggested by the modern English expression “Pandora’s box.” Hesiod’s wording in Works and Days describes Pandora opening a pithos containing the world’s troubles.
The “box” wording became widespread through later translations and retellings. The Renaissance humanist Erasmus is often credited with translating the Greek container into the Latin pyxis, meaning a box or small container, helping establish the familiar phrase in European languages.
This translation history explains a frequent misconception about the myth’s setting. Ancient Greek art and literature do not require Pandora to be holding a wooden chest. A monumental storage jar is more consistent with the original term and with the practical meaning of pithos in Greek material culture.