In Hesiod’s Works and Days, hope stayed inside Pandora’s jar after all the troubles escaped.
Hesiod describes Pandora opening a large storage jar, releasing illnesses and other evils into the world. She closes it before the final occupant can escape. The Greek word is elpis, commonly translated as “hope.”
The story does not clearly explain whether hope is a blessing kept for humanity or another trouble trapped inside. That ambiguity has led to different interpretations by classical scholars and later writers. The familiar English expression “Pandora’s box” is also slightly misleading: Hesiod wrote about a pithos, a large jar, not a small box.
Later retellings usually present hope as the comforting remainder that allows humans to endure suffering. This positive interpretation became especially influential in European literature and visual art.