In the original Greek version of Pandora’s box, Pandora opened a jar.
Hesiod used the Greek word pithos, which refers to a large storage jar or earthenware vessel. Such jars were used in the ancient Mediterranean for commodities including grain, oil, and wine. The object was not originally described as a small wooden box.
The expression “Pandora’s box” became standard much later through translation and retelling. The Latin scholar Erasmus helped popularize the box wording in the sixteenth century, and it became firmly established in European languages. Modern illustrations therefore commonly show a decorated chest even though the earliest literary source specifies a jar.
This distinction matters because the container is one of the myth’s most frequently altered details. Another debated point is whether the thing left inside was hope or merely a final affliction that did not escape. The jar itself, however, is clearly supported by Hesiod’s terminology.