In Greek mythology, Pandora is often described as the first woman.
Hesiod presents her as a specially fashioned figure created by the gods under Zeus’s direction. Hephaestus shapes her from earth, while other deities provide beauty, skill, speech, and other characteristics. Her creation follows Prometheus’s theft of fire and forms part of Zeus’s punishment of humanity.
Calling Pandora the first woman is a mythological description, not a historical or scientific claim. It belongs to an ancient Greek origin story explaining why humans experience hardship, labor, and suffering. The myth also gives a divine explanation for marriage and the social tensions Hesiod associated with human life.
Pandora is sometimes described casually as a goddess because gods made her, but she is generally treated in the story as a mortal woman rather than an established Olympian deity. Her importance comes from her unique creation and from the vessel she opens, not from membership in the Olympian pantheon.