In Greek mythology, Epimetheus received Pandora despite the warning to reject Zeus’s gifts. He was the brother of Prometheus, who had advised him not to accept anything sent by Zeus. Epimetheus nevertheless welcomed Pandora, and the jar episode followed.
His name is traditionally interpreted as “afterthought,” contrasting with Prometheus’s “foresight.” That wordplay gives the myth a clear moral structure: careful anticipation is set against judgment that arrives only after an action has been taken. Epimetheus’s decision is therefore important even though Pandora is the figure most associated with the jar.
Epimetheus appears in other Greek myths as well. He and Pandora are often described as the parents of Pyrrha, who later becomes central to the Greek flood story with Deucalion. That connection is sometimes omitted from short retellings, which focus only on the jar and the release of evils.