In Hesiod’s Works and Days, Pandora is described as the first woman among humans.
Hesiod presents her creation as a divine response to Prometheus’s theft of fire. Zeus has Hephaestus fashion her, and the gods contribute gifts before she is sent into the world. Her arrival functions as an origin story for human suffering, labor, and the troubles that affect mortal life.
Pandora is therefore not originally described simply as a curious person discovering a container. She is a carefully constructed mythic figure whose creation has a cosmic purpose. Later writers, artists, and popular storytellers expanded her character in many directions, often emphasizing curiosity or treating the container as a box. The basic Hesiodic identity remains that of the first woman, created by the gods and associated with the beginning of evils among humanity.