Pithos is the Greek word for the large storage jar in Hesiod’s Pandora story.
A pithos was a substantial ceramic container used in the ancient Greek world for storing commodities such as grain, oil, or wine. Hesiod’s Works and Days uses this kind of word for Pandora’s container, which is why the oldest literary version describes a jar rather than a small modern box.
The expression “Pandora’s box” became established through later transmission and translation. Erasmus is often credited with popularizing the Latin phrase pyxis Pandorae, or “Pandora’s box,” in the sixteenth century. The change influenced European retellings and remains standard in English.
Pithos should not be confused with an amphora, which is a different vessel shape, usually characterized by two handles and a narrower neck. The exact visual form of the mythic container is not fully specified, but pithos is the key ancient term.