In the Pandora myth, the container Pandora opened was a pithos. The Greek word pithos refers to a large storage jar, often used for grain, wine, oil, or other supplies.
Hesiod’s account does not describe a small box in the modern sense. The familiar phrase “Pandora’s box” developed later through translation and retelling. The Latin word pyxis, meaning a small box or container, helped shift the image away from the large earthenware jar suggested by pithos.
This distinction matters because the object’s original identity is a translation issue rather than a plot difference. Pandora still opens a sealed container and releases troubles into the world, but the earliest surviving Greek account presents it as a storage jar.
Archaeological pithoi were substantial vessels, sometimes large enough to stand taller than a person. Their size reinforces the difference between Hesiod’s jar and the compact box shown in many modern illustrations.