Pithos is the Greek name for the large jar called Pandora’s “box” in Hesiod’s myth. A pithos was a substantial storage container used in the ancient Mediterranean, commonly for products such as grain, oil, or wine.
Hesiod’s Greek text uses the word pithos, not a term meaning a small box. The familiar English expression developed through a later translation tradition, especially after Erasmus used the Latin phrase pyxis Pandorae. That translation helped establish the image that dominates modern speech and art.
The distinction is more than a visual detail. A pithos was a large household or agricultural vessel, so the myth’s container would have been a substantial jar rather than a portable jewelry box. “Pandora’s box” remains the standard expression in English, even though “Pandora’s jar” is closer to the ancient source.