In Hesiod’s Works and Days, Pandora’s container held evils before it was opened.
Hesiod describes the vessel as containing destructive troubles that had previously been kept away from human life. When Pandora opened it, the evils escaped and spread among people. The poem uses this event to explain why human beings experience sickness, toil, and other hardships.
The ancient text does not call the object a box in the modern sense. It uses the Greek word pithos, usually translated as a large storage jar or earthenware vessel. The familiar phrase “Pandora’s box” became standard through later translation and retelling, especially after the Renaissance.
The story’s ending also matters: hope remains inside after the other evils depart, although scholars debate how exactly Hesiod intended that detail. The container itself is therefore a major source of later interpretation, not just a decorative object in the myth.