In Greek mythology, what warning did Prometheus give Epimetheus about Pandora?

In Greek mythology, Prometheus warned Epimetheus not to accept gifts from Zeus. The warning reflects Prometheus’s distrust of Zeus and his awareness that divine gifts could conceal punishment.

Prometheus and Epimetheus were brothers among the Titans. Prometheus was associated with foresight, while Epimetheus was associated with hindsight. After Prometheus had angered Zeus by helping humanity, Zeus arranged for Pandora to be sent as part of a punishment directed at mortals. Prometheus’s advice was therefore especially important: he understood that the apparently attractive gift carried a hidden danger.

Epimetheus nevertheless accepted Pandora. In Hesiod’s version, Pandora later opened the jar and released the conditions that trouble human life. The warning is sometimes retold as a direct instruction not to open the container, but that is not the most specific form of the ancient account. The central warning concerns accepting Zeus’s gift in the first place.

This detail also explains why the myth is often read as a story about deceptive appearances, divine retaliation, and the limits of hindsight.