In Hesiod’s Works and Days, Epimetheus receives a jar associated with Pandora.
The ancient Greek word used in the poem refers to a large storage vessel, commonly translated as a jar or pithos. Pandora opens it, allowing evils to escape into the human world, while hope remains inside. The vessel was not originally described as a small wooden box.
The familiar phrase “Pandora’s box” became established through later translation and artistic tradition. The Latin writer Erasmus helped popularize the box wording in the sixteenth century, and English retellings made it the standard expression.
Epimetheus, whose name means “afterthought,” is the recipient and husband in the usual retelling. His brother Prometheus had warned him not to accept gifts from Zeus, but Epimetheus accepted Pandora. That contrast between foresight and hindsight is a major part of the myth’s moral structure.