Prometheus stole fire before Zeus sent Pandora to humanity in the Greek myth.
Prometheus is famous for taking fire from the gods and giving it to mortals. The act represents a major advantage for humanity, since fire supports warmth, cooking, craft, and technological skill. Zeus treats the theft as a serious violation of the boundary between gods and humans.
Hesiod places Pandora within the punishment that follows. Zeus orders the gods to create a woman and sends her to Epimetheus, Prometheus’s brother. The story thus links the gift of fire with the arrival of a different kind of divine gift—one that introduces hardship into human life.
Later classical writers, especially Aeschylus, developed the Prometheus story in different ways, and modern retellings often combine details from several ancient sources. The basic connection remains stable: Prometheus’s theft of fire is the event that precedes Zeus’s response involving Pandora.