The original Greek container in the Pandora myth was a pithos. A pithos was a large storage jar used in ancient Greece for products such as grain, wine, or oil.
In Hesiod’s Works and Days, Pandora receives a sealed vessel from the gods and opens it, releasing troubles into the world. The Greek word pithos does not mean a small box. The familiar phrase “Pandora’s box” developed later through translation and artistic tradition.
The jar’s size matters because ancient storage vessels were substantial household objects, not decorative gift boxes. Some interpretations connect the pithos with burial or storage customs, but the central literary fact is straightforward: Hesiod’s container is a jar.
Erasmus helped popularize the “box” wording in the Renaissance. His Latin rendering used pyxis, a word for a box, rather than preserving the original pithos.