text: The mistranslation of pithos is usually attributed to the 16th century humanist Erasmus of Rotterdam who translated Hesiod 's tale of Pandora into Latin .
simplified: The mistranslation of pithos as `` box '' is usually attributed to the 16th century humanist Erasmus of Rotterdam . Erasums is thought to have made the error when he translated Hesiod 's tale of Pandora into Latin .