Pandora is the first woman in the Greek myth commonly known as Pandora’s box.
According to Hesiod, the gods created Pandora after Prometheus gave fire to humanity. Zeus ordered Hephaestus to shape her from earth, while other gods granted her different gifts. Her name is usually understood as meaning “all-gifted” or “all-giving,” reflecting those divine contributions.
Pandora was sent to Epimetheus, Prometheus’s brother. Although Prometheus had warned him not to accept gifts from Zeus, Epimetheus welcomed Pandora. The container associated with her was later opened, releasing evils into the world. Hesiod’s earliest surviving accounts do not call it a box: they describe a large storage jar. The familiar box image became dominant through later translation and artistic tradition.