In Hesiod’s Pandora myth, Prometheus warned Epimetheus not to accept Zeus’s gift. Prometheus was the Titan who had previously taken fire from the gods and given it to humanity, provoking Zeus’s anger.
The warning is part of the contrast between the two brothers. Prometheus is associated with foresight, while Epimetheus is associated with thinking afterward. Hesiod says Prometheus advised Epimetheus to reject gifts from Zeus, but Epimetheus accepted Pandora when she arrived.
The story’s sequence differs slightly between ancient sources. In Works and Days, Pandora’s arrival and the release of troubles are connected to Zeus’s response to Prometheus’s theft. Other later retellings often simplify the plot into a story about curiosity and a box, but Hesiod’s version focuses more on divine punishment, deception, and the unequal relationship between gods and humans.