In Greek mythology, Pandora opens the container that releases troubles into the world.
Hesiod’s Works and Days tells that Pandora was given a storage jar and that she opened it, allowing its harmful contents to escape. The story does not make her the sole author of humanity’s misfortunes: Zeus has arranged her creation and delivery as part of a punishment connected with Prometheus and the theft of fire.
After the contents spread, Pandora closes the container, leaving hope inside according to the traditional reading of the passage. Later retellings often describe her action as curiosity, although Hesiod’s account does not present the modern phrase “curiosity killed the cat” or give a simple psychological explanation in those exact terms.
Epimetheus is sometimes confused with the person who opens the container because he is Pandora’s husband in Hesiod’s story. He accepts her despite Prometheus’s warning, but Pandora—not Epimetheus—is the figure who lifts the lid.