The container in Hesiod’s account was a pithos, a large Greek storage jar later transformed in popular tradition into Pandora’s box.
In Works and Days, Hesiod describes Pandora opening a pithos containing destructive forces. A pithos was a substantial ceramic vessel used in the ancient Greek world for storing commodities such as grain, wine, or oil. It was generally much larger and more utilitarian than the small decorative boxes shown in many modern illustrations.
The “box” wording became established through later transmission and translation. The Latin word pyxis, meaning a small box or container, is often cited as part of the route by which the vessel was reimagined. Modern retellings then made “Pandora’s box” the standard phrase.
The other vessel names are genuine ancient Greek ceramic terms but describe different forms. An amphora has two handles, a krater was used for mixing wine and water, and a lekythos was a narrow vessel often associated with oil.