In Greek mythology, Prometheus stole fire for humanity before Pandora entered the story.
Prometheus is a Titan associated with forethought, intelligence, and the protection of humankind. In the best-known versions of the myth, he took fire from the gods and gave it to humans, allowing civilization, technology, cooking, and craft to develop. Zeus punished him severely, traditionally by chaining him to a mountain where an eagle repeatedly ate his liver.
Hesiod places Pandora within Zeus’s response to Prometheus’s deception and theft. Zeus had Pandora fashioned and sent to Epimetheus, Prometheus’s brother. Her arrival and the opening of her jar form part of the myth explaining why suffering exists alongside human abilities and blessings.
Prometheus is sometimes described as humanity’s creator, but that detail belongs to later or alternative traditions rather than every early Greek account. His most stable role in the Pandora story is the fire-bringer whose actions provoke Zeus’s punishment.