In Hesiod’s Theogony, Pandora is described as “beautiful evil.” The phrase summarizes Zeus’s punishment of humanity after Prometheus stole fire for mortals.
Hesiod presents Pandora as the first woman, fashioned by the gods at Zeus’s command. Her outward beauty is deliberately paired with a harmful role: she becomes a source of suffering for humans, who had previously lived without the troubles associated with her arrival.
The wording comes from the Greek poetic tradition and is often translated in slightly different ways, including “beautiful evil” and “a beautiful evil.” These translations refer to the same compact epithet, not to Pandora being morally evil in every later interpretation of her character.
The Theogony gives a shorter account than Hesiod’s Works and Days. In the later poem, Pandora’s creation and the opening of the jar receive more narrative detail, while the Theogony emphasizes the divine punishment and the consequences of Prometheus’s theft.