Pithos is the Greek word for the large storage jar in the ancient story of Pandora’s box.
A pithos was a substantial earthenware vessel used in the ancient Greek world for storing materials such as grain, oil, and wine. In Hesiod’s Works and Days, the container connected with Pandora is described with this term. Its scale and practical purpose differ considerably from the small decorative box usually shown in modern illustrations.
The English phrase developed through later translation. Desiderius Erasmus rendered the Greek container into Latin as pyxis, a word associated with a box. That translation helped establish “Pandora’s box,” even though “Pandora’s jar” would more closely reflect the ancient wording.
An amphora is another Greek vessel, but it normally has two handles and a narrower form. A krater was used for mixing wine and water, while a lekythos was a smaller vessel often associated with oil. None is the specific container named in the Pandora story.