In the Pandora myth, hope remained inside the jar after the other evils escaped.
Hesiod’s Works and Days says that Pandora replaced the lid after troubles had gone out, leaving only elpis inside. Elpis is commonly translated as “hope,” although scholars have discussed whether the word carried a more specific sense of expectation or anticipation in the poem’s context.
The detail creates an important ambiguity in the story. Some readers understand the remaining hope as a benefit preserved for humanity. Others ask why hope was trapped inside rather than released. The ancient poem does not provide a simple modern explanation, so interpretations differ.
Later retellings usually present hope as the positive force that survived among the world’s troubles. This is why the phrase “hope at the bottom of Pandora’s box” is often used to describe optimism surviving a disaster.