Pandora was the woman said to open Pandora’s Box in Greek mythology.
In Hesiod’s account, Pandora was fashioned by the gods and given gifts that made her attractive and capable. Her name is commonly explained as meaning “all-gifted” or “all-giving.” She was sent to Epimetheus, the brother of Prometheus, despite Prometheus’s warning not to accept gifts from Zeus.
The familiar expression “Pandora’s Box” comes from later tradition. Hesiod described a jar, not a box; the Greek word was pithos, a large storage vessel. Translators and retellings gradually turned the vessel into a box, which became the standard phrase in many languages.
Pandora’s story is often connected with the Greek explanation for why suffering exists in the world. When the container was opened, troubles escaped, while hope remained inside or was otherwise associated with the vessel, depending on the interpretation of the ancient text.