Pandora's Box was a rectangular box owned by the legendary woman Pandora. In appearance, the box was unassuming and plain, apart from a bronze locking mechanism on the lid, which took the shape of a large handprint (modeled after Pandora's). The lock on the Box was similar to a wind-up clock and would slowly tick open every so often, requiring it to be re-locked by Pandora or one of her descendants on a regular basis. Pandora once opened the Box and unleashed the forces within, but managed to shut the box in time to prevent hope from escaping. Thus, Pandora reasoned, hope is still in the Box, and therefore still accessible to humanity.
Pandora's understanding of the situation was transferred to her granddaughter, who lost the Box and was trying to get it back so she could re-lock it before hope escaped. She was able to recruit Xena and Gabrielle, who were trying to sort out a prophecy about a king and a baby at the time, to assist her. Xena arranged for the king, Gregor to adopt the baby and hire Pandora as a nursemaid, in exchange for placing Pandora's Box under guard to ensure that it wasn't stolen again. As they reviewed the safeguards on the Box, Gabrielle accidentally knocked it open, revealing it was empty. Xena realized hope is locked away inside every human heart, and whatever the original Pandora did, the Box is now just a symbol. (XWP: "Cradle of Hope")
- In the original mythology, Pandora's Box was actually a large storage jar. The exact source of the confusion is usually traced to Erasmus of Rotterdam who apparently mistook the Greek word pithos (a large storage jar) for pyxis (a small cylindrical box).