In Greek mythology, Zeus commanded Hephaestus to create Pandora.
Hesiod presents Pandora as part of Zeus’s punishment after Prometheus stole fire for humanity. Zeus instructed Hephaestus, the divine smith, to fashion a woman from earth. Other gods then contributed qualities, clothing, skills, and charms, producing a figure whose name means “all-gifted.”
Pandora was sent to Prometheus’s brother Epimetheus, who accepted her despite Prometheus’s warning not to accept gifts from Zeus. The later expression “Pandora’s box” comes from a translation error: Hesiod’s original container was a pithos, or large storage jar.
The myth is preserved chiefly in Hesiod’s Works and Days and Theogony. Ancient versions focus on divine punishment and the arrival of suffering, while modern retellings often treat Pandora as personally responsible for opening the container. In Hesiod, however, Zeus is the power who initiates the entire scheme.