In Hesiod’s Pandora story, Zeus sent Pandora to Epimetheus.
Zeus is the ruling god of Mount Olympus and the central authority in Hesiod’s account. After Prometheus deceives him over a sacrificial division and steals fire for humans, Zeus devises a punishment affecting both Prometheus and humanity. He orders the creation of Pandora and has her delivered to Epimetheus.
Epimetheus is Prometheus’s brother. Prometheus warns him not to accept gifts from Zeus, but Epimetheus accepts Pandora and later marries her. The story uses the brothers’ names as a contrast: Prometheus represents forethought, while Epimetheus represents hindsight or afterthought.
Ancient versions do not all present the myth with identical emphasis or detail. Hesiod’s Works and Days is the key source for the sequence involving Zeus, Prometheus, Pandora, and Epimetheus. The later phrase “Pandora’s box” compresses this longer story into a familiar image of curiosity, release, and irreversible consequences.