In Greek mythology, Hesiod first describes Pandora’s creation in the Theogony. Hesiod was an early Greek poet traditionally dated to the late eighth or early seventh century BCE.
The Theogony contains a relatively brief account. It says that Zeus ordered Hephaestus to make a woman from earth and that the gods furnished her with gifts. Hesiod expands the story in Works and Days, where Pandora’s arrival among humans and the opening of the jar receive fuller treatment.
Homer is sometimes named in general discussions of Greek mythology because his epics are foundational ancient Greek texts, but Pandora is not the subject of a detailed Homeric creation narrative. The principal surviving literary accounts come from Hesiod.
The two Hesiodic poems are not identical retellings. Theogony focuses more on divine genealogy and the creation of the woman, while Works and Days connects Pandora directly to the human condition and the spread of hardship.