In Pandora’s box mythology, hope was the one thing left inside after the other troubles escaped. Hesiod’s Works and Days says that Elpis, commonly translated as “hope,” remained in the vessel when Pandora replaced its lid.
The detail has produced different interpretations. Some readers see hope as a consolation granted to humans, while others note that the story does not plainly say whether hope was meant to help humanity or was withheld from it. The Greek word can also carry broader meanings involving expectation or anticipation.
Modern summaries usually present the myth as saying that hope remained behind to comfort people amid suffering. That is a familiar interpretation, but the ancient wording is more compact and ambiguous than many retellings suggest. Hope is therefore the container’s most debated occupant.