In Hesiod’s Works and Days, Prometheus warns Epimetheus about accepting gifts from Zeus.
Prometheus is the Titan who had stolen fire and given it to humanity. Zeus responds by arranging Pandora’s creation and sending her to Epimetheus. Because Prometheus understands Zeus’s hostility, he warns his brother not to accept anything from the Olympian ruler.
Epimetheus ignores the warning and accepts Pandora. In the traditional sequence, this decision allows the disaster associated with the opened container to enter the human world. The contrast between the brothers is deliberate: Prometheus represents foresight, while Epimetheus represents afterthought.
The warning is sometimes omitted from brief modern retellings, which focus only on Pandora opening the container. Hesiod’s fuller narrative includes the brothers’ opposing judgments before Pandora arrives.