In Hesiod’s Works and Days, the mortal woman who receives the name Pandora is Pandora herself.
Hesiod presents Pandora as the first woman in Greek mythology. The gods create her as part of Zeus’s punishment of humanity after Prometheus steals fire and gives it to mortals. Each deity contributes something to her appearance, abilities, or character, and Hermes gives her a name associated with gifts from all the gods.
Pandora is not originally described as a queen, goddess, or historical person. She is a mythological figure whose story explains the presence of suffering in human life. In Hesiod’s version, she becomes connected with Epimetheus, the brother of Prometheus, and her opening of the vessel allows evils to escape.
Later writers and artists reimagined Pandora in many ways, sometimes making her more sympathetic or treating her as a symbol of curiosity. The earliest surviving literary accounts, however, come from Hesiod, who tells her story in both the Theogony and Works and Days, with the fullest narrative in Works and Days.