Epimetheus was Pandora’s husband or companion when she arrived with the sealed jar.
Epimetheus was a Titan and the brother of Prometheus. His name is commonly interpreted as “afterthought,” contrasting with Prometheus, whose name is associated with forethought. This contrast is central to the myth: Prometheus warned Epimetheus not to accept gifts from Zeus, but Epimetheus accepted Pandora anyway.
Hesiod presents Pandora as a divinely made woman sent to Epimetheus. She brought the container whose opening released sickness, labor, and other hardships into the human world. The story thus connects Pandora’s action with Epimetheus’s failure to heed his brother’s warning.
Epimetheus is less famous than Pandora and Prometheus, but he appears in several Greek myths. He is also associated with animals because, in one account, he distributed useful qualities to them before realizing that humans had been left without protection.