In Hesiod’s Pandora myth, Prometheus gives humans fire before Zeus sends Pandora.
Prometheus is a Titan famous for helping humanity. In Hesiod’s account, he tricks Zeus during a sacrificial division and later steals fire for humans, hiding it in a stalk of fennel. Zeus responds by ordering the creation of Pandora, whose arrival brings toil and suffering to humankind.
Prometheus’s name is associated with forethought, while his brother Epimetheus is associated with afterthought. That contrast helps explain why Epimetheus accepts Pandora despite Prometheus’s warning not to accept gifts from Zeus. The fire episode and Pandora episode belong to the same chain of mythic punishment, although later authors and artists often expand Prometheus’s role beyond Hesiod’s version.