In the myth of Pandora, what did Pandora do after the evils escaped?

In the myth of Pandora, Pandora replaced the lid after the evils escaped from the jar. Hesiod’s Works and Days says that the contents flew out, while hope remained inside because Pandora closed the container before it could leave.

The action is easy to confuse with opening or breaking the vessel, but Hesiod’s sequence is more specific: Pandora opens the container, the evils escape, and she puts the lid back. The narrative then explains why hope is associated with the sealed jar.

Interpretations differ over whether hope is presented as a blessing retained for humanity or as another spirit confined inside the vessel. The Greek word elpis can refer to expectation as well as hope, so translators and commentators have debated its precise implication.

The familiar English retellings often simplify the ending, but the lid is important to the ancient scene. Pandora does not destroy the container; she closes it again after the contents have escaped.