In Greek mythology, Aphrodite gave Pandora beauty before she was sent to humanity.
Hesiod describes Pandora as a carefully prepared creation assembled by the gods after Zeus decided to punish humanity for Prometheus’s theft of fire. The gods supplied her with different qualities, making her outwardly appealing as well as socially persuasive.
Aphrodite’s gift is often summarized as beauty, while other gods contributed clothing, skills, speech, and related attributes. The exact wording differs between Hesiod’s Works and Days and later summaries, so modern retellings sometimes combine details from separate passages.
Pandora is not originally described as a woman who accidentally discovers an ordinary household container. In Hesiod’s story, she is a divinely fashioned figure whose arrival forms part of Zeus’s punishment. The later phrase “Pandora’s box” developed from translations and adaptations of the original Greek story.