Epimetheus married Pandora in Greek mythology after Prometheus warned him not to accept gifts from Zeus.
Epimetheus was a Titan whose name is commonly understood as “afterthought” or “hindsight.” His older brother Prometheus, whose name means “forethought,” recognized Zeus’s possible deception and advised Epimetheus to reject gifts from the Olympian gods. Epimetheus ignored that warning and accepted Pandora, whom Zeus sent as part of a punishment connected with Prometheus’s theft of fire.
Pandora’s arrival leads to the opening of the storage vessel that releases sickness, toil, and other troubles into the world. In Hesiod’s account, the marriage itself is part of the chain of events that follows Prometheus’s conflict with Zeus. Epimetheus is therefore often remembered less for an independent myth than for his contrast with his more famous brother.
The names Prometheus and Epimetheus are a useful way to remember the story’s theme: foresight is set against belated realization. Later retellings sometimes portray Epimetheus as simply foolish, but Hesiod’s myth focuses more strongly on the consequences of accepting Zeus’s gift.