Epimetheus accepts Pandora despite Prometheus’s warning in Hesiod’s Works and Days.
Prometheus tells his brother Epimetheus not to accept gifts from Zeus. Epimetheus, whose name is commonly interpreted as “afterthought,” ignores the warning and takes Pandora into his home. The episode connects the Pandora story with a contrast between the brothers’ names and characteristic behavior.
Prometheus is associated with forethought and with stealing fire for humanity. Epimetheus is portrayed as less cautious, and his acceptance of Pandora allows Zeus’s punishment to reach the human world.
Some retellings say Pandora is sent directly to Prometheus, but that is not Hesiod’s version. In the poem, Epimetheus receives her. The brothers are Titans, yet the myth places them in conflict with Zeus and the Olympian order.