In Greek mythology, Zeus sends Pandora to Epimetheus as punishment for Prometheus’s theft.
Prometheus has defied Zeus by stealing fire for humanity, an act that gives humans a powerful advantage but provokes the ruler of the gods. Zeus responds by arranging Pandora’s creation and sending her to Epimetheus, Prometheus’s brother.
The episode is part of a wider conflict between Zeus and Prometheus. In Hesiod’s account, Zeus’s punishment affects both the Titan and humanity: Prometheus is separately condemned, while Pandora brings the jar whose released contents become the source of human suffering.
Later retellings often describe Pandora as personally choosing to create trouble, but Hesiod frames her arrival as part of Zeus’s plan. The myth therefore connects the jar’s opening to the earlier theft of fire rather than presenting it as an isolated incident.