In the Greek myth of Pandora, Epimetheus accepted Zeus’s gift despite Prometheus’s warning.
Prometheus tells his brother Epimetheus not to accept anything from Zeus. Epimetheus nevertheless receives Pandora, who has been fashioned and equipped by the gods. The warning reflects the brothers’ contrasting characters: Prometheus represents forethought, while Epimetheus is associated with thinking afterward.
After entering Epimetheus’s household, Pandora opens the sealed container and releases the troubles that had previously been kept away from humanity. The myth presents the episode as part of Zeus’s retaliation against Prometheus and the human race after the theft of fire.
Epimetheus is not the same figure as Prometheus, although their names and roles are deliberately contrasted. He is also different from Atlas, the Titan condemned to hold up the sky, and Cronus, the older Titan ruler defeated by Zeus.