In Hesiod’s Theogony, what is Pandora called in relation to the human race?

In Hesiod’s Theogony, Pandora is described as a beautiful evil for the human race. This striking phrase reflects the poem’s explanation of why women and marriage became part of the human condition after Zeus’s conflict with Prometheus.

The Theogony gives a more compressed version of the Pandora story than Works and Days. It emphasizes the divine creation of the woman and the consequences for men, rather than presenting the extended narrative of opening the storage vessel. The wording is part of Hesiod’s archaic Greek account and reflects ancient assumptions that differ sharply from modern views.

Translations vary in exact phrasing. English editions may render the description as “a beautiful evil,” “a lovely evil,” or a closely related formulation. The underlying idea remains consistent: Pandora is presented as an attractive divine creation whose arrival brings hardship. Because the phrase is translation-sensitive, the answer refers to the standard English rendering associated with the Theogony.