Pandora’s container was originally called a pithos in ancient Greek versions.
A pithos was a large ceramic storage jar used in the ancient Greek world for commodities such as grain, oil, or wine. Hesiod uses this kind of vessel in the story rather than describing a small wooden box.
The word “box” became attached to the myth through a translation history. The Renaissance humanist Erasmus translated the Greek term into Latin as pyxis, a word associated with a box or container. That choice helped establish the familiar phrase “Pandora’s box” in later European languages.
This distinction matters because the vessel’s scale changes the image of the story. Ancient audiences would have imagined a substantial household storage jar. Modern illustrations often show Pandora lifting the lid of a compact box, reflecting the later translation rather than Hesiod’s original wording.