In Hesiod’s Works and Days, Epimetheus receives Pandora as Zeus’s punishment for Prometheus’s theft.
Epimetheus is Prometheus’s brother, and their names create a deliberate contrast. Prometheus suggests foresight, while Epimetheus suggests afterthought or learning too late. Although Prometheus warns his brother not to accept gifts from Zeus, Epimetheus takes Pandora into his household.
Pandora’s arrival follows Zeus’s anger over Prometheus giving fire to humanity. Hesiod presents the event as part of a broader explanation for why human life includes labor, suffering, and reproduction. The myth is not simply a story about curiosity; it also explains the divine origin of hardship.
Some later retellings make Pandora the wife of Epimetheus, while others focus only on her opening the vessel. Prometheus is not the recipient in Hesiod’s account, even though his theft triggers the punishment.