In Greek mythology, Pandora’s story is most directly connected to Prometheus’s theft of fire. Prometheus takes fire from the gods and gives it to humanity, provoking Zeus to devise a punishment involving the creation of Pandora.
The connection appears most clearly in Hesiod’s Works and Days. Zeus commands the gods to create Pandora after the conflict over fire and sacrifice. Pandora’s arrival is consequently framed as part of the wider punishment of humans rather than as an unrelated event.
Prometheus is sometimes confused with Epimetheus because the names are paired and both are Titans. Prometheus means “forethought,” while Epimetheus means “afterthought.” Epimetheus accepts Pandora and becomes her husband; Prometheus is the fire-stealing Titan whose actions set the story in motion.