In Greek mythology, Zeus ordered the creation of Pandora. Hesiod presents her creation as Zeus’s response to Prometheus’s theft of fire for humanity. Rather than simply sending a punishment directly, Zeus has the gods fashion a woman whose arrival will bring suffering to humankind.
The story appears most fully in Hesiod’s Works and Days, composed in archaic Greece. He also refers to Pandora in the Theogony, though that account is shorter. Different gods contribute to Pandora’s appearance, skills, clothing, and character, while Hephaestus is commonly described as shaping her from earth.
A common mix-up is to credit Prometheus with creating Pandora because he is closely connected with the story. Prometheus’s role is different: he steals fire and deceives Zeus during the division of an ox sacrifice. Zeus then arranges Pandora’s creation as part of the resulting punishment. Pandora is therefore a consequence of the conflict between Zeus and Prometheus, not Prometheus’s invention.