The ancient Greek container translated as the “box” in Pandora’s box is a pithos. A pithos was a large storage jar, often used for grain, oil, or wine, rather than a small hinged chest.
Hesiod’s Works and Days uses the Greek word pithos when describing the vessel associated with Pandora. The familiar English wording developed later through a translation tradition connected with the Renaissance scholar Erasmus. His Latin rendering used a term meaning box or container, helping establish the expression “Pandora’s box.”
This is why classical references may speak of “Pandora’s jar” instead. “Pandora’s box” is now the standard English idiom, but the archaeological and linguistic picture points to a substantial storage vessel. The distinction matters because it explains why ancient Greek art and scholarship do not require Pandora to be carrying a little casket.