Epimetheus became Pandora’s husband in Greek mythology after accepting Zeus’s gift. His name is commonly interpreted as “afterthought” or “hindsight,” contrasting with his brother Prometheus, whose name means “forethought.”
Hesiod presents Epimetheus as a Titan who failed to heed Prometheus’s warning not to accept gifts from Zeus. Pandora was then sent to him, and Epimetheus accepted her despite the warning. Their marriage links the Pandora story to the wider myth explaining the arrival of suffering among humans.
Epimetheus is sometimes confused with Prometheus because both brothers appear in the same myth cycle. Prometheus steals fire for humanity and is punished by Zeus, while Epimetheus receives Pandora and later becomes associated with the consequences of poor judgment.
In later retellings, Pandora is often described as Epimetheus’s wife without the full Titan genealogy. Hesiod’s account is the oldest surviving literary source for the story.