In Hesiod’s account, Epimetheus accepted Pandora despite Prometheus’s warning.
Epimetheus and Prometheus are brothers among the Titans. Their names create a deliberate contrast: Prometheus is associated with forethought, while Epimetheus is associated with afterthought. Hesiod uses that contrast to explain why Epimetheus makes the decision his more cautious brother advised against.
Prometheus warns Epimetheus not to accept gifts from Zeus. Nevertheless, Epimetheus receives Pandora, who has been fashioned and equipped by the gods. Pandora’s opening of the container then becomes the mythic explanation for why human life includes suffering, disease, toil, and other troubles.
Epimetheus is sometimes incorrectly identified as Pandora’s creator or as the thief of fire. Those roles belong elsewhere in the story: the gods create Pandora, while Prometheus steals fire and gives it to humanity. Epimetheus’s defining action is accepting Pandora, making his name especially fitting within the myth.