In the Greek myth of Pandora, Epimetheus accepted Pandora despite Prometheus’s warning. Epimetheus and Prometheus were brothers, and their names are often interpreted as contrasting forms of thought: Epimetheus is associated with hindsight, while Prometheus is associated with forethought.
Prometheus understood that gifts from Zeus might conceal a danger, so he warned Epimetheus not to accept anything sent by the Olympian ruler. Epimetheus nevertheless received Pandora, who had been created as part of Zeus’s punishment for humanity. In Hesiod’s account, Pandora’s presence led to the release of troubles from her storage jar.
The episode helps explain why the myth links human suffering with a failure to heed advice. Epimetheus is not usually the thief of fire; that role belongs to Prometheus. Nor is Epimetheus the god who crafted Pandora: Hesiod assigns that work to Hephaestus.