Elpis is the Greek personification or concept of hope associated with the contents of Pandora’s container. In Hesiod’s Works and Days, the evils escape, but Elpis remains inside after Pandora closes the lid.
The ending has generated debate because the poem does not plainly explain whether hope is trapped as a protection for humanity or withheld from it. Ancient Greek elpis can mean expectation or anticipation, not only the positive emotional quality suggested by the English word “hope.” Translators therefore differ in how they present the final line.
Popular retellings usually say that hope remains behind to comfort humans. That interpretation is widespread, but it should not be treated as the only scholarly reading. The key stable fact is the Greek name Elpis and her association with the final substance left in the container.