In Hesiod’s Works and Days, Pandora opened a jar.
The Greek word used in the story is pithos, a large storage jar commonly used in the ancient Mediterranean for grain, oil, or wine. Hesiod describes Pandora opening this vessel and releasing the evils that had previously been kept away from human life. The poem does not describe a small wooden box.
The familiar expression “Pandora’s box” arose through later translation history. The Renaissance humanist Erasmus translated the Greek vessel into Latin as pyxis, a term associated with a box, and that wording helped establish the phrase used in English and many other languages.
This distinction matters because the container’s size and function affect the image of the myth. A pithos was a substantial household storage jar, not a decorative jewelry case. Modern illustrations usually follow the later box tradition, so readers often remember the popular title rather than Hesiod’s original object.