The common English phrase for a source of many unexpected troubles inspired by Pandora’s myth is “Pandora’s box.” It is used metaphorically for an action, discovery, or decision that creates numerous complicated problems once it begins.
The expression comes from the story in which Pandora opens a sealed container and releases evils into the world. The phrase is familiar in journalism, politics, business, and everyday speech, where it often warns that investigating or changing one matter may produce consequences that are difficult to control.
A major historical detail is that Hesiod’s original container was a large jar, not a box. The “box” wording became established through later translation, especially through the Renaissance-era Latin tradition associated with Erasmus. That translation history explains why the modern English phrase does not match the earliest Greek wording.
The expression is not limited to a literal object. A government decision, scientific experiment, or personal choice can be called a Pandora’s box when it unleashes a chain of unforeseen troubles. The phrase has also become the standard English title for the myth itself.