Which Renaissance scholar popularized the phrase “Pandora’s box” in a 1508 Latin proverb collection?

Desiderius Erasmus popularized the phrase “Pandora’s box” in a 1508 Latin proverb collection.

The ancient Greek story described Pandora opening a jar, not a box. Hesiod used the Greek word pithos, meaning a large storage jar or vessel. Erasmus later rendered the container as a box in a Latin discussion of proverbs, helping establish the wording that became familiar in European languages.

The change was linguistic and cultural rather than a new version of the myth. Renaissance readers encountered Greek mythology largely through Latin texts, translations, and classical commentary. Erasmus’s influential Adagia helped spread the altered image.

The expression now means a seemingly simple action that releases many unforeseen problems. The common modern wording therefore reflects a Renaissance translation choice, while the earliest surviving Greek account centers on a jar.