What expression, derived from Pandora’s myth, means an action that creates many unforeseen problems?

The expression “opening Pandora’s box” means taking an action that creates many unforeseen problems. It derives from the myth in which Pandora opens a sealed container and releases troubles into the human world.

In modern English, the phrase usually describes a decision, discovery, or investigation whose consequences become difficult to control. It does not necessarily refer to literal curiosity, and it can apply to politics, technology, law, family disputes, or any situation where one step produces a cascade of complications.

The wording reflects the later “box” version of the story. Hesiod’s original Greek account describes a pithos, a large storage jar. The expression nevertheless became fixed in English as “Pandora’s box,” and it is now more familiar than the ancient container’s exact form.

The phrase is related to, but distinct from, expressions such as “opening a can of worms.” Both suggest unexpected trouble, but “opening Pandora’s box” specifically invokes the mythological source and often implies that many different problems have been released at once.