In Hesiod’s Works and Days, Pandora opened a jar that released troubles into the world.
The Greek word used by Hesiod is pithos, a large storage vessel commonly used for grain, oil, or wine. It was not the small hinged box shown in many modern illustrations. The “box” wording became standard after a sixteenth-century Latin mistranslation or adaptation.
Once the vessel was opened, evils escaped and spread among humans. Hesiod’s version does not present Pandora as simply acting from curiosity; the narrative focuses on Zeus’s punishment and the consequences of opening the container.
The jar detail is one of the most frequently overlooked facts in the myth. “Pandora’s box” remains the established English expression, even though “Pandora’s jar” is closer to the ancient Greek text.