Prometheus warns his brother Epimetheus about accepting Zeus’s gift of Pandora in the Greek myth.
Prometheus is the Titan associated with foresight, while his brother Epimetheus is associated with hindsight. After Prometheus steals fire and gives it to humanity, Zeus retaliates by sending Pandora, the first woman in Hesiod’s account, to Epimetheus. Prometheus recognizes that the gift may conceal a punishment.
He therefore advises Epimetheus not to accept anything from Zeus. Epimetheus ignores the warning and takes Pandora as his wife. The story then connects Pandora with the sealed container whose opening releases suffering into the human world.
The brothers’ names reinforce the story’s moral contrast. Prometheus is commonly interpreted as “forethought,” whereas Epimetheus is commonly interpreted as “afterthought.” Some retellings simplify the myth and omit the warning, which can make Epimetheus appear to accept Pandora without hesitation. In Hesiod’s narrative, however, the warning and its rejection are important parts of the sequence.