In Greek mythology, Pandora was created as the first woman. Hesiod presents her as the first member of womankind, made by the gods in response to Prometheus’s theft of fire.
Her creation is part of a larger explanation for marriage, household labor, and the difficulties of mortal life. In Works and Days, Hesiod connects women and marriage with the need for men to work and provide, reflecting the social assumptions of archaic Greek poetry rather than a modern account of gender.
Pandora is not described as a goddess herself. She is a mortal woman constructed and equipped by divine beings, then sent into the human world. Her exceptional origin gives her a unique place in mythology without making her an immortal Olympian.
Later retellings sometimes call Pandora a goddess because she receives gifts from gods or because she is central to a cosmic myth. In Hesiod’s narrative, however, she is the first woman and a divinely fashioned mortal figure. That distinction is essential to the original story.