In Pandora’s box mythology, the hope that remained inside the container was called Elpis.
Elpis is the Greek personification of hope. In Hesiod’s Works and Days, Pandora opens the vessel and releases destructive forces into the world, but Elpis remains inside. The detail has prompted centuries of debate because the Greek wording can be read in more than one way: hope may have been kept in the jar as a protection for humans, or prevented from leaving while other evils escaped.
Modern retellings usually present the story as a balance between suffering and hope. The name Elpis is more precise than simply answering “hope,” because Elpis is also a mythological figure or personification. The story therefore links a common emotional idea with the religious language of ancient Greek myth.