In the Greek myth of Pandora’s box, the jar’s escaping contents are called evils. Hesiod describes the container as holding destructive forces that had previously been kept away from human beings, while hope remains inside after the lid is closed.
The Greek account does not treat the container as a box in the modern sense. It uses the word pithos, meaning a large storage jar. The familiar English title arose through later translation and transmission, but “Pandora’s box” became the standard phrase because it is vivid and easy to understand.
The word “evils” is a broad translation rather than the name of one single monster or object. The contents represent disease, misery, and other troubles of mortal existence. Modern retellings sometimes say that every evil escaped except hope; that summary captures the central pattern, although the ancient text’s wording and the exact status of hope remain subjects of interpretation.