In Hesiod’s Works and Days, Prometheus warned Epimetheus not to accept gifts from Zeus.
Prometheus understood that Zeus’s gift would conceal a danger. He had already angered Zeus by stealing fire and giving it to humanity, so he recognized that the gods’ apparent generosity could be part of a punishment. Epimetheus, whose name is commonly interpreted as “afterthought,” ignored the warning and accepted Pandora.
Pandora then became Epimetheus’s wife in the mythic tradition. Her arrival completes the chain of consequences that began with Prometheus’s theft of fire. The story is therefore not simply about curiosity; it is also about divine retaliation, misplaced trust, and the contrast between foresight and hindsight.
Some versions and modern retellings focus more heavily on Pandora’s curiosity than Hesiod does. Hesiod’s text emphasizes Zeus’s plan and the harmful qualities placed in the jar, while later tradition helped make the opening of the container the story’s defining moment.