Epimetheus receives Pandora after Prometheus warns him not to accept gifts from Zeus.
Epimetheus is a Titan associated with afterthought, contrasting with his brother Prometheus, whose name is linked with forethought. In Hesiod’s account, Prometheus warns Epimetheus not to accept anything from Zeus. Epimetheus nevertheless accepts Pandora, who has been sent as part of Zeus’s response to the theft of fire.
The story’s wordplay is central to the brothers’ roles. Prometheus anticipates danger, while Epimetheus recognizes the danger only afterward. Pandora’s arrival therefore becomes an example of the consequences suggested by Epimetheus’s name.
Later retellings sometimes omit Epimetheus and present Pandora as acting alone. In the ancient narrative, however, her relationship with Epimetheus is important: she is sent to him, and he is the figure who accepts Zeus’s gift despite the warning.