In Hesiod’s original Pandora myth, the troubling contents are held in a pithos. A pithos was a large ancient Greek storage jar, commonly used for products such as grain, oil, or wine.
Hesiod’s Works and Days does not describe Pandora opening a box. The Greek word pithos refers to a jar or large container. The story became associated with a box through later translation and retelling, especially in the Renaissance.
The phrase “Pandora’s box” is now so familiar that many readers assume it is the ancient wording. It is a later conventional expression, while “Pandora’s jar” more closely reflects the surviving Greek text.
The container’s exact contents and their meaning have also generated debate. Hesiod says that evils spread among humans after the jar is opened, while hope remains inside, but he does not give the modern story all of its later details.