Erasmus helped popularize the phrase “Pandora’s box” in the 16th century.
The ancient Greek account described Pandora opening a pithos, or large storage jar, rather than a small box. During the Renaissance, however, the Latin tradition and translation choices helped transform the container in popular European culture. Desiderius Erasmus, the Dutch humanist, contributed to the spread of the familiar “box” formulation through his widely read writings.
The change was helped by a linguistic misunderstanding. The Greek word pithos was associated with a container, while later readers connected the story with the Latin word pyxis, meaning a box or small container. The altered image proved especially memorable.
Today, “opening Pandora’s box” means starting a process that produces many unexpected problems. The modern idiom therefore reflects both Hesiod’s myth and the Renaissance reshaping of its central object.