In Hesiod’s Greek myth, Pandora was described as the first woman.
Hesiod presents Pandora as a specially created human figure whose arrival changes the condition of humanity. In Works and Days, Zeus commands the gods to make her after Prometheus gives fire to humans. The account describes her as a beautiful and dangerous gift, rather than as an ordinary mortal born into an existing human family.
This detail is often simplified in modern retellings. Hesiod does not merely call Pandora the first person to open a container; he makes her the first woman in his version of the story. The later phrase “Pandora’s box” also changes the ancient object: Hesiod calls it a large storage jar, not a box.
Pandora’s story is one of several Greek myths explaining why hardship exists in the human world. Its themes include divine punishment, curiosity, marriage, and the boundary between gods and mortals. Different later writers and artists adapted the story, so details can vary outside Hesiod’s poems.