Which ancient Greek poem describes Pandora receiving a jar from the gods?

Works and Days is the ancient Greek poem that describes Pandora receiving a jar from the gods. It is attributed to Hesiod and contains the fullest surviving early version of Pandora’s creation and the release of evils.

The poem is not simply a collection of myths. It is a didactic work about farming, justice, labor, and proper conduct. The Pandora episode appears within that broader discussion as an explanation for why human life is filled with toil and suffering. The story therefore serves a moral and cosmological purpose rather than functioning only as entertainment.

The vessel is a pithos, an earthenware storage jar. “Pandora’s box” became the standard expression in many languages through later retellings and translation choices. The Iliad and Odyssey contain many Greek myths, but neither provides the canonical Pandora-container episode.