Pithos is the Greek word for a large storage jar that led to the later “Pandora’s box” translation.
In Hesiod’s account, Pandora’s container is a pithos. A pithos was a substantial earthenware vessel used in the ancient Greek world for storing commodities such as grain, oil, and wine. It was a practical storage object, not necessarily a small personal box.
The modern phrase emerged through a translation history. The Renaissance humanist Erasmus of Rotterdam translated the Greek term into Latin as pyxis, a word for a box or casket. Later European languages popularized the box image, and “Pandora’s box” became the standard English expression.
The related Greek word amphora can also cause confusion, but an amphora is a different vessel type, usually characterized by a narrower body and two handles. Krater refers to a mixing vessel. Pithos is the specific term associated with Pandora’s container in Hesiod.