In Hesiod’s version of Pandora’s story, Pandora closed the jar after its contents escaped.
Works and Days describes Pandora opening the container, allowing the harmful things inside to fly out into the world. Once she understands what has happened, she replaces the lid. Hope remains within the container at that moment.
This detail is often simplified in modern retellings. Many popular versions say Pandora “left hope behind,” but Hesiod’s wording gives her an active role in closing the vessel. The text does not present Epimetheus as the person who shuts it.
The action also helps explain why the story became a lasting image of irreversible consequences. The evils cannot be gathered back after they escape, even though the container can still be closed. Later artists and writers have adapted the scene in many ways, sometimes turning the jar into a small box and changing the precise role of hope.