In Hesiod’s Works and Days, Pandora herself first lifts the lid of the vessel.
The ancient Greek narrative makes Pandora the agent who releases the harmful contents. Zeus has Pandora delivered to Epimetheus, Prometheus’s brother, despite Prometheus’s warning not to accept gifts from Zeus. Epimetheus accepts her, and the vessel is later opened, allowing the troubles inside to escape among humans.
The common phrase “Pandora’s box” comes from later translation history. Hesiod’s Greek word is pithos, meaning a large storage jar or vessel. The familiar box arose through a Renaissance Latin rendering associated with Erasmus, which helped establish the expression used in English today.
The myth does not present Pandora as opening a modern hinged box. Artistic and popular retellings often do so because a small box is easier to depict and fits the later phrase. The identity of the opener, however, remains Pandora in the standard Hesiodic account.