In Hesiod’s Works and Days, evils escaped from Pandora’s jar and caused suffering among humans.
Hesiod describes the container as holding destructive conditions that had previously been hidden from people. When Pandora opened it, these evils spread throughout the world. The poem uses the episode to explain why human life includes illness, hardship, and other forms of suffering.
The myth is not a detailed inventory with one universally agreed list of named contents. Different translations use words such as evils, miseries, or troubles. These choices reflect the Greek text and the translator’s preference, so “evils” is the concise conventional answer rather than the title of a fixed catalog.
The story also places the release before the survival of hope. Pandora closed the container before hope could escape, giving the episode its famous contrast between the spread of suffering and the uncertain status of hope. Later retellings often make the container itself the central object, while Hesiod’s original emphasis is on the human condition.