In the Greek myth of Pandora’s box, Pandora opened a jar.
The original Greek story does not describe a box in the modern sense. Hesiod uses the word pithos, meaning a large storage jar or earthenware container. Pandora opens it, releasing sickness, toil, and other hardships into the world.
The familiar phrase “Pandora’s box” arose through later translation and retelling. The Renaissance humanist Erasmus translated pithos as pyxis, a smaller box or container, helping establish the wording used in English and many other languages.
The jar is sometimes shown as a small decorative box in paintings, books, and films, but the ancient literary image was a substantial vessel. The story also includes hope, which remains inside after Pandora closes the container.