In the Greek myth of Pandora’s jar, hope was the last thing remaining inside after it was opened. Hesiod’s Works and Days says that evils escaped into the world when Pandora lifted the jar’s lid, while Elpis remained within.
Elpis is the Greek word usually translated as “hope.” The passage is unusually brief and has generated centuries of debate: some readers see hope as a comfort left for humanity, while others ask why hope would be kept inside a container of evils. Hesiod does not explicitly explain the symbolism.
The familiar phrase “Pandora’s box” comes from a later translation and artistic tradition. Hesiod described a large storage jar, called a pithos in Greek. The popular version therefore combines an ancient story with a later change in the object’s name and shape.