In the myth of Pandora, Pandora is the first human to open the forbidden container.
Hesiod’s Works and Days says that Pandora opens the container after it has been placed in the household of Epimetheus. The contents escape into the world, bringing human suffering. Hesiod does not present the episode as a modern “box” story: the Greek word refers to a large storage jar, later translated into Latin as pyxis, which encouraged the familiar box wording.
The myth is often retold as though Pandora acted from simple curiosity. Hesiod’s version focuses more strongly on the woman as an instrument of Zeus’s punishment and on the release of evils into human life. Later artistic and literary traditions increasingly emphasized curiosity as her motive.
Pandora’s action is also distinct from the theft of fire. Prometheus steals fire, while Pandora opens the container. Combining those events into one act is a common mistake in abbreviated retellings.