In Greek mythology, who was Pandora, the woman associated with the famous jar?

In Greek mythology, Pandora was the first woman. Hesiod presents her creation as part of Zeus’s punishment of humanity after Prometheus gave people fire.

The gods each contributed something to Pandora’s appearance or abilities. Hephaestus shaped her from earth, while other gods gave her gifts; her name is commonly interpreted as “all-gifted” or “the one who received all gifts.”

Pandora’s story appears especially in Hesiod’s Works and Days and Theogony. Later retellings often describe her as opening a box, but the older Greek account refers to a large storage jar. The “box” wording became standard in later European tradition.

Pandora is therefore not originally a goddess. She is a human woman created by the gods, although her myth has influenced art, literature, psychology, and the modern expression “Pandora’s box.”