Hesiod’s Works and Days first records Pandora’s creation and the opening of her container.
Works and Days is an ancient Greek didactic poem traditionally attributed to Hesiod, who probably lived around the late eighth or early seventh century BCE. Its account of Pandora appears while Hesiod explains why human life includes labor, suffering, and hardship.
Hesiod also discusses Pandora in the Theogony, but that earlier poem gives a shorter account and does not tell the complete opening-container episode. This distinction often causes confusion because both poems belong to the same author and share mythological material.
The poem is not simply a collection of myths. It also contains advice about farming, justice, seafaring, household conduct, and the proper organization of work. Pandora’s story therefore functions as part of a wider explanation of the human condition, rather than as an isolated fairy tale.