In Hesiod’s Works and Days, hope was left inside Pandora’s jar after the evils escaped. Hesiod says that the lid was replaced before Elpis, usually translated as “Hope,” could fly out with the other afflictions.
This detail creates one of the myth’s most debated meanings. Some readers see hope’s confinement as a final comfort for humanity: suffering entered the world, but hope remained available. Others note that Hesiod describes Elpis among the harmful things in the container, so the passage may imply that hope itself was withheld or delayed rather than simply granted as a gift.
The Greek word is elpis, which can mean expectation as well as hope. The myth does not explicitly explain why it stayed inside. Modern retellings often turn the ending into a straightforward optimistic message, but the original poem leaves the symbolism open to interpretation. The familiar phrase “Pandora’s box” also reflects a later wording change from Hesiod’s jar.