In Hesiod’s Works and Days, Prometheus’s theft of fire led to Pandora’s creation. Prometheus, a Titan who sympathized with humanity, stole fire from the gods and gave it to humans, angering Zeus.
Zeus responded by arranging a punishment that affected both Prometheus and humankind. Prometheus himself was punished separately, while Zeus had Pandora created and sent among humans. The linked episodes form one of the earliest surviving Greek explanations for why people possess fire yet also suffer disease, hardship, and other evils.
Prometheus is often remembered primarily as a heroic champion of humanity, especially in later literature. Hesiod’s portrayal is more ambivalent: the theft benefits humans, but it violates Zeus’s authority and contributes to the chain of punishments that culminates in Pandora’s arrival.
The fire episode and Pandora story are connected in Works and Days, although their details differ across ancient authors and later retellings.