In Greek mythology, Prometheus gives fire to humanity before Zeus creates Pandora.
Prometheus is a Titan associated with foresight and with helping humankind. In the best-known version of the story, he steals fire from the gods and gives it to humans, enabling cooking, craft, and technological progress. Zeus responds by arranging a punishment for both Prometheus and humanity.
Pandora is part of that response. Zeus orders the gods to create her and sends her to Prometheus’s brother Epimetheus. The linked myths explain why humanity possesses fire yet also experiences suffering and hardship.
Prometheus’s act is not identical in every ancient source, and Greek myth has several versions of his relationship with Zeus. Still, the fire episode is the standard narrative setting for Pandora’s arrival. Prometheus is later punished by being bound to a mountain while an eagle repeatedly consumes his liver.