The Greek word used for the hope that remains in Pandora’s jar is elpis.
Elpis is the ancient Greek term generally translated as “hope.” In Hesiod’s Works and Days, it is named as the final presence left inside the vessel after the other harmful forces escape. The word can refer to expectation or anticipation, and its exact force depends on context.
This detail has generated centuries of interpretation. Some readers regard hope as a consolation deliberately preserved for human beings. Others ask why hope is inside a container of evils and whether its confinement means that people are protected from hope or denied access to it. The poem does not provide a universally accepted explanation.
Elpis is not the name of a goddess in the same straightforward sense as Athena or Aphrodite within this episode. It is the Greek noun for hope, although later art and literature sometimes personified abstract qualities. The term therefore identifies the concept rather than a simple character label.