In Hesiod’s Works and Days, hope remains inside Pandora’s container after the troubles escape. The detail is one of the myth’s most debated features because Hesiod does not explain it in a fully straightforward way.
The Greek word is elpis, a term often translated as “hope,” though its meaning can include expectation or anticipation. Pandora closes the container before elpis leaves, so humanity receives the troubles while hope remains within the vessel.
Readers have long disagreed about whether this is comforting or troubling. Hope may be portrayed as a benefit preserved for humans, or as something withheld from them. The poem itself gives no simple explanation that resolves the ambiguity.
This episode is distinct from the question of what escapes: Hesiod describes evils or troubles spreading among humans, while hope is the notable item left behind. Later retellings often simplify the scene into a purely optimistic moral.