In Hesiod’s Pandora myth, Zeus ordered Pandora’s creation as a punishment for humanity. His response followed Prometheus’s theft of fire and his attempt to outwit Zeus during a sacrifice.
Hesiod tells the story in Works and Days and also refers to it in Theogony. Zeus commands Hephaestus to shape a woman from earth, while other gods contribute qualities, ornaments, and skills. Hermes then brings Pandora to Epimetheus.
The punishment is aimed at humanity rather than only at Prometheus. Pandora’s arrival introduces a new source of trouble, and the opening of her container releases hardships into the human world. Later retellings often make curiosity the central theme, but Hesiod’s account emphasizes Zeus’s plan and the consequences of conflict between gods and humans.