Pithos is the Greek word for the large storage jar in the earliest literary version of Pandora’s story.
A pithos was a substantial vessel used in ancient Greece for storing commodities such as grain, wine, and olive oil. In Hesiod’s account, Pandora opens a pithos, and the harmful forces contained within escape into the world. The vessel’s size and practical use differ sharply from the small hinged box pictured in many modern illustrations.
The familiar phrase developed through translation history. Erasmus used the Latin term pyxis, meaning a box or container, when rendering the Greek passage. English and other modern languages then popularized “Pandora’s box,” which became a metaphor for an action that releases unforeseen problems.
A krater was mainly a mixing vessel for wine and water, while an amphora was a handled storage or transport jar with a narrower shape. Neither term is the word used for Pandora’s container in the earliest literary account.