In Greek mythology, Prometheus was Pandora’s brother-in-law and humanity’s fire-bringing champion.
Prometheus was a Titan who supported humanity in its conflict with Zeus. In the best-known version of the fire story, he steals fire from the gods and gives it to humans. Zeus punishes him by having him chained to a rock, where an eagle repeatedly eats his liver before it grows back.
Prometheus is also connected to Pandora through his brother Epimetheus. Zeus sends Pandora to Epimetheus after Prometheus warns him not to accept gifts from the gods. Epimetheus ignores the warning, and Pandora later opens the vessel containing the world’s troubles.
The two brothers represent contrasting kinds of judgment in their names and stories: Prometheus is linked with forethought, while Epimetheus is linked with hindsight. Modern retellings sometimes make Prometheus Pandora’s husband, but Hesiod’s narrative identifies Epimetheus as her partner. Prometheus’s fire theft and Pandora’s vessel belong to the same larger sequence of myths about Zeus, humanity, and divine punishment.