In Hesiod’s mythology, Prometheus warned Epimetheus about accepting gifts from Zeus. Prometheus and Epimetheus are brothers in the Titan family, and their names create a contrast between foresight and hindsight.
Prometheus understood that Zeus’s gifts could conceal danger, so he advised Epimetheus to reject anything sent by the Olympian ruler. Epimetheus ignored the warning and accepted Pandora, who had been created and sent as part of Zeus’s response to Prometheus’s theft of fire.
This warning is an important link between two connected myths: the theft of fire and the release of evils from Pandora’s container. It also explains why later readers often interpret Prometheus as clever but defiant, while Epimetheus represents impulsive judgment.
Hesiod’s version does not present Prometheus as Pandora’s husband. That role belongs to Epimetheus, making the brothers’ different responses to Zeus’s actions central to the story.