In Greek mythology, Zeus hid fire from humanity before Pandora was created. Prometheus then stole fire and returned it to humans, provoking Zeus to devise a punishment that affected both the Titan and mankind.
Fire was essential in Greek myth because it represented warmth, cooking, metalworking, and the wider benefits of civilization. Prometheus’s theft therefore gave humans a powerful advantage, not merely a small flame. Zeus’s response was correspondingly severe in the traditional story.
The sequence is important: Pandora is introduced after the fire episode, so her arrival is framed as a consequence of Prometheus’s action. Later retellings often focus only on the container and omit the earlier conflict over fire.