In ancient Greek mythology, Pandora is generally described as the first woman.
Hesiod’s Works and Days presents her creation as part of Zeus’s response to Prometheus’s theft of fire for humanity. The gods give Pandora different qualities and adornments before she is sent to the human world. Her arrival introduces a new figure into the mythic story of humanity and divine punishment.
Pandora is not normally classified as a goddess. She is a mortal woman fashioned by divine powers, although her creation is exceptional and supernatural. This distinction helps separate her from Olympian goddesses such as Athena, Aphrodite, and Hera.
The familiar “box” episode is only one part of the larger story. In Hesiod, Pandora’s creation, marriage, and the opening of the jar belong to a sequence explaining why human life includes suffering and difficult labor.