Erasmus published the version that helped popularize the phrase “Pandora’s box” in 1508.
Desiderius Erasmus was a Dutch Renaissance humanist whose Adagia collected and explained classical proverbs and expressions. In an expanded 1508 edition, he rendered Pandora’s vessel as a box, helping establish the wording that became standard in European languages.
Hesiod’s original Greek account uses pithos, meaning a large storage jar. The shift from jar to box is therefore a history of reception and translation rather than a change in the ancient story itself. Later writers and artists reinforced the box image until it became more familiar than the original vessel.
Erasmus did not invent Pandora or the story. His importance lies in transmitting and reshaping classical material for Renaissance readers. The first edition of Adagia appeared in 1500, but 1508 is the date commonly connected with his Pandora-related adaptation.