In Greek mythology, the first woman associated with the famous sealed container was Pandora.
Pandora appears in the Greek poet Hesiod’s accounts, especially the Works and Days and the Theogony. Her name is commonly explained from Greek elements meaning “all-gifted” or “all-giving,” reflecting the gifts bestowed on her by the gods. She was created as part of Zeus’s punishment of humanity after Prometheus gave people fire.
The story is often presented as a simple tale about curiosity, but Hesiod’s versions focus more broadly on divine punishment, human suffering, and the relationship between gods and mortals. The name Pandora therefore belongs to the woman, not to the container itself.
Later retellings made Pandora’s story one of the best-known Greek myths. They also helped connect her name with curiosity and unintended consequences, although those popular themes are more developed in later interpretations than in Hesiod’s compact ancient narratives.