In Greek mythology, Hesiod first tells the story of Pandora and the jar in Works and Days.
Hesiod was an early Greek poet generally dated to the late eighth or early seventh century BCE. Works and Days is a didactic poem concerned with justice, farming, labor, and the proper organization of human life. The Pandora episode appears within its explanation of why suffering and hardship exist.
Hesiod also discusses Pandora-related material in Theogony, but Works and Days provides the fuller account of the woman, the jar, and the escape of evils. The poem’s version is therefore the central ancient literary source for what later became known as Pandora’s box.
Homer is another foundational Greek poet, but the Pandora jar story is not primarily a Homeric episode. Ovid, a Roman poet writing centuries later, adapted many Greek myths but is not the earliest source for this one. Later authors and translators changed details, including the jar’s transformation into a box.