In Greek mythology, Zeus ordered Pandora to be sent to humanity as punishment after Prometheus stole fire.
The myth connects Pandora’s arrival with the conflict between Zeus and Prometheus. Prometheus had deceived Zeus over the division of an animal sacrifice and later stole fire for human beings. Zeus responded by withholding fire and then arranging a broader punishment for humanity.
According to Hesiod, Zeus instructed Hephaestus to fashion Pandora and directed the other gods to give her various qualities. Hermes then brought her to Epimetheus, Prometheus’s brother. Prometheus had warned Epimetheus not to accept anything from Zeus, but Epimetheus accepted Pandora and married her in later tradition.
Pandora’s story therefore belongs to a chain of myths about the relationship between gods and humans, not merely to an isolated tale about a container. Hesiod presents the episode as an explanation for why human life includes suffering and labor. The connection with Prometheus is also why many modern summaries describe Pandora as part of Zeus’s revenge for the theft of fire.