Pandora was the woman created by the gods as humanity’s first woman in Greek mythology.
Hesiod presents Pandora in Works and Days as a divinely fashioned figure whose arrival changes the human condition. Different gods contribute qualities or gifts to her, and Zeus sends her to Epimetheus, the brother of Prometheus. Her name is commonly explained from Greek elements meaning “all-gifted” or “all-giving,” although ancient interpretation and modern scholarship discuss the exact nuance.
Pandora is often described in modern retellings as the first woman, but Hesiod’s story is also an aetiological myth: it explains why disease, toil, and other troubles affect human life. The familiar English expression “Pandora’s box” is itself based on a later misunderstanding, because Hesiod describes a large storage jar rather than a box.
Pandora should not be confused with figures such as Eve, Helen, or Ariadne. Those characters belong to different mythic traditions and have different roles in their stories.