The Greek term for hope in the Pandora passage of Hesiod’s Works and Days is elpis.
Elpis is the ancient Greek word commonly translated as “hope,” though its meaning can also include expectation or anticipation. In Hesiod’s story, the evils escape from Pandora’s jar while elpis remains inside. Translators and commentators have disagreed about the emotional force of the word because expectation can be positive, negative, or neutral depending on context.
This linguistic detail helps explain why the final element of the myth is so controversial. If elpis means reassuring hope, the jar leaves humanity with comfort amid suffering. If it means expectation of future trouble, its confinement could have a darker significance. Hesiod does not provide an explicit interpretation, so readers should distinguish the ancient wording from later moral summaries. The English expression “Pandora’s box” also reflects later translation history, while elpis belongs to the original Greek text and its interpretive problems.