In Hesiod’s Pandora myth, Prometheus is punished before Pandora is sent to humanity.
Prometheus is the Titan who steals fire and gives it to human beings. Zeus responds by imposing a punishment on him and by devising a separate punishment for humanity: the creation and delivery of Pandora, whose jar releases suffering into the world.
This background explains why Pandora’s arrival is not an isolated story about curiosity. In Hesiod, the episodes belong to a chain of conflict between Zeus and Prometheus. Fire gives humans power and civilization, while Pandora introduces the burdens that accompany mortal existence.
Later retellings often merge details from different ancient authors. Aeschylus, for example, presents Prometheus with a more sympathetic and culturally heroic emphasis in Prometheus Bound. Hesiod’s Pandora story, however, frames her as part of Zeus’s retaliation after Prometheus’s theft of fire, with Epimetheus accepting the divine gift despite his brother’s caution.