In Hesiod’s story, Pandora married Epimetheus after the gods brought her to Earth. Epimetheus was the brother of Prometheus, whose name is commonly interpreted as “afterthought” or “one who thinks afterward.”
Prometheus had warned Epimetheus not to accept gifts from Zeus, but Epimetheus accepted Pandora. In the narrative, this decision helps explain how Zeus’s punishment reaches humanity. Pandora then opens the container and releases the troubles that had previously been confined within it.
A frequent mistake is to identify Prometheus as Pandora’s husband because he is the better-known figure in the surrounding myth. Prometheus is her brother-in-law, not her spouse, in Hesiod’s account. Epimetheus’s name also supplies a moral contrast with Prometheus: one represents delayed judgment, while the other suggests forethought.