In the Greek myth of Pandora’s box, hope remained inside after Pandora opened it.
Hesiod’s Works and Days describes Pandora opening a large storage jar, releasing evils that spread among humanity. The account ends by saying that only hope remained inside, because the jar’s lid was replaced before it could escape.
This detail has prompted different interpretations. Hope may be understood as a comfort left to humans, or as another burden kept contained with the other troubles. Hesiod does not provide a separate allegorical explanation, so later readers have debated whether hope is beneficial or deceptive.
A common mix-up concerns the object itself. Hesiod wrote about a jar, not a box; the familiar phrase “Pandora’s box” developed later through translation history. The story is part of Hesiod’s explanation for why human life contains suffering and labor.