In Hesiod’s Works and Days, Pandora herself first opened the sealed vessel. The story says that she removed the covering or opened the container, allowing the troubles inside to escape into the world.
The vessel is often called a box in modern retellings, but Hesiod used the Greek word pithos, generally understood as a large storage jar. The familiar phrase “Pandora’s box” became established through later translation and artistic tradition. The difference matters because the original object was a substantial earthenware container, not a small wooden box.
Epimetheus is frequently named in modern versions because Pandora is sent to him and becomes his wife, but Hesiod’s narrative does not make him the opener. Zeus is responsible for the broader plan involving Pandora, while Prometheus is connected with the earlier theft of fire and the punishment that follows.
After the troubles escape, hope remains inside. That ending has generated many interpretations, but the action that releases the contents is attributed to Pandora.