In Greek mythology, Pandora was described as the first woman. Hesiod’s account presents her creation as the beginning of women’s existence among human beings.
The story links Pandora’s arrival to the conflict between Zeus and Prometheus. After Prometheus helped humanity obtain fire, Zeus arranged for Pandora to be made and sent among humans. Her appearance is therefore part of a larger myth explaining suffering and the human condition.
Hesiod’s portrayal reflects the social assumptions of archaic Greek poetry and is not a general statement shared by every Greek myth about human origins. Later writers and artists often adapted Pandora’s story, sometimes treating her as a symbolic ancestor rather than focusing on the poem’s polemical context.
The “first woman” description is also why Pandora is sometimes compared with Eve. They are separate figures from different traditions, though both stories have been interpreted as explanations for the arrival of hardship.