Who opened a box releasing all evils into the world?

The story behind the answer

Pandora is correct: in Hesiod’s myth she opened a sealed jar (later mistranslated as a “box”), and out flew the world’s hardships—disease, toil, and sorrow—while only Hope (Elpis) remained inside. She was fashioned by Hephaestus at Zeus’s command as the first woman, a beautiful “gift” whose curiosity completed Zeus’s punishment of humanity after Prometheus stole fire.

To avoid confusion: Athena is the goddess of wisdom; Leda is Helen of Troy’s mother; Eris is the goddess of strife who tossed the golden apple that sparked the Trojan War—but she didn’t open the container. Memory tip: “Pan-dora” sounds like “pan-door”—she opened the door to “all” (pan) evils, with hope left behind.