In Greek mythology, who was Pandora, the woman whose jar was opened?

In Greek mythology, Pandora was the first woman, whose jar released troubles into the world.

The poet Hesiod presents Pandora as a divinely created figure in his works Theogony and Works and Days. Zeus ordered her creation as part of his punishment for humanity after Prometheus stole fire and gave it to mortals. Several gods contributed gifts or qualities to her, which is reflected in the name Pandora, commonly interpreted as “all-gifted.”

Pandora is often described in modern retellings as simply curious or malicious, but Hesiod’s account is more complex. The gods deliberately prepare her and send her to humanity, making her part of Zeus’s larger plan. Her story is therefore connected to the Greek myth explaining why suffering exists alongside human life.

The familiar expression “Pandora’s box” comes from later adaptations. Hesiod actually describes a large storage jar, not a small box, and the original Greek myth calls Pandora a woman fashioned by the gods rather than an ordinary mortal born by natural means.