Pandora found hope remaining inside the jar after the world’s troubles escaped.
In Hesiod’s Works and Days, Pandora opens a container and releases evils that had previously been kept away from humanity. The account says that only elpis, usually translated as “hope,” remains inside when Pandora closes the lid.
The ending has prompted centuries of debate. Some readers interpret hope as a comfort left for humans, while others note that Hesiod’s wording is ambiguous and does not simply declare whether hope is beneficial or harmful. The familiar modern saying usually treats hope as the positive element preserved for humanity.
Another common misunderstanding is that the myth explicitly says Pandora deliberately released every evil. Hesiod presents the opening as an event but gives less psychological detail than many later retellings.