In Greek mythology, Pandora was the first human woman created by the gods and given the forbidden container.
Her story appears most fully in Hesiod’s works, especially Works and Days, composed in the late eighth or early seventh century BCE. Zeus ordered her creation after Prometheus stole fire and gave it to humanity. Several gods contributed qualities to Pandora, and Hermes gave her the name Pandora, commonly interpreted as “all-gifted.”
The container associated with her was a large storage jar in the Greek original, not specifically a small box. Later translations and artistic traditions popularized the phrase “Pandora’s box.” Pandora opened it, releasing troubles into the world, while hope remained inside according to the usual reading of the myth. She is sometimes confused with Eve because both figures appear in stories about humanity’s first woman and the arrival of suffering, but they belong to different religious traditions.