Pandora’s container was called a pithos in Hesiod’s original Greek account.
A pithos was a large earthenware storage jar used in the ancient Greek world. Such vessels could hold grain, oil, wine, or other supplies, and they were often much larger than the small boxes imagined in modern illustrations.
The English phrase “Pandora’s box” reflects a translation history rather than Hesiod’s exact noun. In a Latin translation associated with Erasmus, the Greek pithos was rendered as pyxis, a word meaning box or casket. That choice shaped the expression that became standard in many languages.
The distinction matters because the container is a useful clue to how myths change as they cross languages. “Pandora’s jar” is closer to Hesiod’s wording, while “Pandora’s box” is the established modern idiom.