In Hesiod’s Works and Days, Pandora opens the container after receiving it.
The poem presents Pandora as part of Zeus’s punishment of humanity after Prometheus steals fire. Zeus sends her to Epimetheus, who accepts her despite Prometheus’s warning not to receive gifts from Zeus. The container accompanies Pandora, and the poem says she removes its lid, releasing troubles among human beings.
Hesiod does not describe the object as a box in the modern sense. The Greek word is pithos, usually meaning a large storage jar. The familiar phrase “Pandora’s box” became standard much later, especially through Renaissance scholarship and artistic tradition.
The myth also contains an important detail about what remains inside. After the released evils escape, Elpis, often translated as hope or expectation, stays within the vessel. Interpretations differ over whether this means hope is preserved for humanity or withheld from it.