Which Hesiod poem says that Pandora closed the container after its troubles escaped?

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Works and Days says that Pandora closed the container after its troubles escaped.

The poem is one of the two major works traditionally attributed to Hesiod. It combines moral instruction, farming advice, reflections on justice, and mythic explanations of why human life includes labor and suffering.

In its Pandora passage, the contents of the vessel fly out among humanity, while hope remains inside. Pandora then replaces the lid, ending the release. The passage is brief, which is why later writers had considerable room to expand the characters, motivations, and symbolism.

Theogony also refers to Pandora, but it does not provide the same full container episode. Readers who want the earliest surviving literary account of the opening should therefore look to Works and Days rather than Homer or a later Roman source.

Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Oct. 2026

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