In Hesiod’s Pandora myth, Zeus sends Pandora to Epimetheus as part of a punishment for humanity. Zeus is angered because Prometheus has stolen fire and given it to humans.
The story presents Pandora as a divine response to Prometheus’s action. Zeus has the gods prepare her with attractive qualities and then arranges for her to be taken to Epimetheus, Prometheus’s brother. Epimetheus accepts her despite his brother’s warning not to accept gifts from Zeus.
Pandora is not described by Hesiod as acting independently against Zeus from the beginning. Her arrival is part of Zeus’s plan to bring suffering to humans. The later opening of the container becomes the event through which troubles spread across the world.
This role makes Zeus different from the gods who contribute individual gifts or traits. He is the ruler who orders the overall punishment and controls Pandora’s delivery.