In Greek mythology, Pandora opened the container after Epimetheus accepted her.
Hesiod’s Works and Days makes Pandora the person who lifts the lid of the vessel and releases the troubles stored inside. Epimetheus’s acceptance brings her into the household, but the opening itself is attributed to Pandora. This distinction matters because retellings sometimes blur the roles of the two figures.
The original Greek account calls the vessel a pithos, generally meaning a large storage jar, rather than a small box. The familiar expression “Pandora’s box” developed later through translation and reinterpretation. Regardless of the container’s shape, the central sequence remains stable in popular versions: Zeus sends Pandora, Epimetheus accepts her, and Pandora opens the vessel. The myth then explains why human life contains suffering and hardship.