Pandora’s Box was sent to humans as punishment after Prometheus stole fire in Greek mythology.
Prometheus is a Titan associated with foresight and with helping humanity. In the myth, he takes fire from the gods and gives it to humans, allowing them to gain warmth, cook food, and develop technology. Zeus responds by arranging a punishment that affects both Prometheus and humanity.
Prometheus is punished separately, famously being bound while an eagle eats his liver, which regenerates. For humans, Zeus commissions Pandora and sends her with the sealed vessel. The story therefore connects fire, craftsmanship, civilization, and suffering in one chain of events.
The details vary among ancient and later retellings. Hesiod’s Works and Days is the key surviving source for the Pandora narrative, while Prometheus’s fire theft is also treated in other Greek literary traditions, including Aeschylus’s Prometheus Bound.