In Hesiod’s Greek myth, Pandora’s husband when she opened the jar was Epimetheus.
Epimetheus was the brother of Prometheus and belonged to the Titan generation. His name is commonly interpreted as “afterthought,” contrasting with Prometheus, whose name is associated with forethought. Hesiod presents Epimetheus as someone who accepts Pandora despite Prometheus’s warning not to receive gifts from Zeus.
Pandora’s arrival is part of Zeus’s punishment of humanity after Prometheus stole fire for mortals. Hesiod’s Works and Days says that Pandora opened the container and released the evils that would trouble human life. The popular expression “Pandora’s box” is a later wording: the early Greek account describes a large storage jar, not a box.
Epimetheus is sometimes confused with Prometheus because both brothers appear in the same creation story. In the myth, however, Epimetheus is Pandora’s husband, while Prometheus is the fire-bringer who warns him against accepting Zeus’s gift.