In Hesiod’s myth, Prometheus stole fire from Zeus before Pandora was created.
Prometheus is a Titan associated with foresight and with humanity’s acquisition of fire. Hesiod presents his theft as a violation of Zeus’s authority. In response, Zeus devises a punishment for humans: Pandora is fashioned and sent to them, bringing a new source of trouble into human life.
The sequence is important because Pandora’s story is not an isolated tale about curiosity. It forms part of a larger explanation of the relationship between gods and humans. Fire represents technology, cooking, craft, and civilization, but in Hesiod it is also an object Zeus deliberately withholds and then sees humanity receive through Prometheus.
Later Greek and modern retellings often emphasize Prometheus as a heroic champion of humankind. Hesiod’s treatment is more ambivalent: Prometheus is clever and beneficial to humans, yet his deception and theft provoke Zeus’s retaliation. Pandora enters the story as the consequence of that divine conflict.