In Hesiod’s Works and Days, hope remains inside Pandora’s jar after the other evils escape. The Greek term is elpis, usually translated as hope, although scholars have debated exactly how Hesiod intended the word to function in the story.
Pandora opens the container after receiving it from the gods, and diseases and other troubles spread across the world. She then closes it before the final occupant can leave. Hesiod does not explain the event in a simple modern moral, which is why readers disagree about whether hope is a blessing preserved for humanity or another ambiguous force kept under restraint.
Later retellings generally present hope as humanity’s consolation. This positive interpretation is especially common in literature, art, and popular culture. The original poem, however, is more compressed and does not clearly say that Pandora deliberately released evil or that hope was given as a reward.
The detail also distinguishes Hesiod’s account from many adaptations. Some versions say hope escapes, while the classical text keeps it within the vessel.