In Hesiod’s story of Pandora, Zeus ordered her creation as punishment for Prometheus’s theft.
Hesiod’s Works and Days presents Zeus as reacting to Prometheus after the Titan deceives him over the division of an ox and later steals fire for humanity. Zeus commands the gods to make Pandora, a woman whose arrival will bring a new burden to humans. The narrative frames her creation as part of Zeus’s punishment rather than as an independent act by Pandora.
Hephaestus makes her from earth, while other deities contribute gifts and adornments. Zeus then sends her to Epimetheus, who accepts her even though Prometheus had warned him not to accept gifts from Zeus. Pandora’s opening of the storage vessel releases hardships into the human world.
Later summaries often describe Zeus as simply creating “Pandora’s box,” but Hesiod’s account is more specific: Zeus initiates the creation, and several gods help furnish Pandora. The myth is therefore both a story about divine retaliation and an origin story for human suffering.