According to Hesiod, Pandora was the first woman in Greek mythology.
In Works and Days, Zeus orders the gods to create Pandora after Prometheus gives fire to humanity. The gods provide her with different gifts, and Zeus sends her to Epimetheus, Prometheus’s brother. Hesiod presents her arrival as part of a divine punishment imposed on humankind.
The name Pandora is commonly explained as meaning “all-gifted” or “all-giving,” reflecting the gifts supplied by the gods. Hesiod’s account is one of the earliest surviving Greek explanations for the existence of human suffering.
Pandora is sometimes described in modern retellings as a goddess, but Hesiod presents her as a mortal woman created by the gods. Her story is also frequently simplified into the phrase “Pandora’s box,” although the original Greek object was a storage jar.