Epimetheus was Pandora’s husband or companion in later retellings of the box myth.
Epimetheus is Pandora’s recipient in Hesiod’s Works and Days. His name is commonly interpreted as “afterthought,” contrasting with his brother Prometheus, whose name means “forethought.” Zeus sends Pandora to him, and Epimetheus accepts her even though Prometheus had warned him not to accept gifts from Zeus.
The earliest account does not present the relationship in the same detailed domestic form used by many later versions, but Epimetheus is consistently central to Pandora’s reception. Their association helps explain how Pandora becomes connected with the human race and with the release of suffering.
Some modern summaries incorrectly identify Prometheus as Pandora’s partner because Prometheus is the better-known figure in the surrounding myth. In Hesiod’s story, however, Prometheus is the brother who distrusts Zeus’s gifts, while Epimetheus is the brother who accepts Pandora. Their names and contrasting personalities are an important part of the myth’s structure.