The chapter explores the ancient Greek elpis and its cognates, challenging previous interpretations by analysing poetic, dramatic, and philosophical writing. It suggests that elpis may be understood as a dynamic, relational, and emotional experience, where emotions and reasoning interact, encompassing both positive emotions of desire and confidence and negative ones of dread and fear. Drawing on modern sociological studies, which examine hope in representational vs. non-representational modes and its relation to agency, the chapter develops elpis as a future-related concept within a broader semantic network. Through this approach, it enhances understanding of elpis in various texts and within Greek cultural models of fate, luck, responsibility, and agency, as well as modern views of this complex concept.