In Hesiod’s Pandora story, Zeus sends Pandora to Epimetheus.
In Works and Days, Zeus creates Pandora as part of his punishment of humanity after Prometheus steals fire for mortals. The gods give Pandora various qualities and gifts, and Hermes leads her to Epimetheus, Prometheus’s brother.
Prometheus had warned Epimetheus not to accept gifts from Zeus, but Epimetheus accepts Pandora. The story therefore connects Pandora’s arrival with Zeus’s revenge and the beginning of human suffering.
Different retellings simplify the myth by saying that Zeus created Pandora himself or that Hermes sent her. In Hesiod’s account, however, Zeus is the divine authority who orders and sends the punishment, while Hermes escorts Pandora to Epimetheus.