In Greek mythology, Zeus ordered Hephaestus to create Pandora as part of his punishment of humanity.
The story begins after Prometheus gives fire to mortals, an act that defies Zeus’s authority. Zeus responds by instructing Hephaestus, the divine smith, to shape a woman from earth. Other gods then contribute qualities or gifts, helping produce the figure named Pandora.
Hesiod presents Pandora as part of Zeus’s larger plan to bring suffering to humans. Hermes gives her a deceptive or crafty mind in the Works and Days account, while other gods provide adornment and abilities. Zeus then sends her to Epimetheus, Prometheus’s brother.
This account differs from later portrayals that treat Pandora as an independently created villain. In the earliest surviving literary version, she is a divine creation used in Zeus’s punishment. The myth also gives a Greek explanation for why human life includes labor, illness, and other hardships.