Pithos is the Greek word for the large storage jar in the original Pandora myth.
A pithos was a substantial ceramic vessel used in ancient Greece for storing commodities such as grain, oil, or wine. Hesiod uses this word when describing the container Pandora opens. The object’s size and practical function differ sharply from the small hinged box commonly pictured in modern illustrations.
The phrase “Pandora’s box” became established through later translation and adaptation. A Latin version associated with the myth used pyxis, a word for a box or small container. English tradition then popularized the box image, even though pithos is the more precise term for Hesiod’s Greek vessel.
Other Greek containers are not interchangeable. An amphora is typically a two-handled jar for transport, while a krater is a vessel for mixing wine and water. A pithos is the specific large storage jar tied to the Pandora passage, making it the canonical answer for the original object.