Pandora's Jar Becomes a Box

In the original Greek myth, Pandora's container wasn't a "box" at all but a pithos, which is a massive clay storage jar used in ancient households. The mistranslation occurred in the Renaissance when the Greek pithos was rendered as the French boîte (box), transforming "Pandora's Jar" into "Pandora's Box." Over time, the mistranslation stuck, and now "box" is universal despite "jar" being the historically accurate term.

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