In Greek mythology, Pandora opens the container that releases suffering into the human world.
Hesiod’s Works and Days says that Zeus had the container placed with Pandora and that she opened it, allowing the evils inside to escape. The story explains, in mythic form, why human life contains illness, toil, and other hardships that were not previously present in the same way.
The myth does not present Pandora simply as an independent villain. Zeus has arranged the larger scheme, the gods have contributed to her creation and attributes, and Epimetheus receives her despite Prometheus’s warning. Different translations also vary in how they describe the opening and what remains afterward.
Later retellings often make curiosity the main motive, but Hesiod’s text is more compressed and does not provide the elaborate psychological portrait found in many modern versions. Pandora’s act is the decisive event, while the surrounding responsibility is distributed among the gods and the human characters.