In the Pandora myth, what kind of figure does Hesiod describe Pandora as being for humanity?

In the Pandora myth, Hesiod describes Pandora as the first woman for humanity.

Theogony calls her the first woman and presents her creation as a new kind of being made by the gods. Works and Days similarly introduces her as part of the explanation for why women and marriage exist alongside human labor and suffering. These passages are among the earliest surviving literary versions of the story.

Pandora is not portrayed as an ordinary historical woman or as an Olympian goddess. She is divinely fashioned, given gifts by the gods, and sent into the human community. Later literature and art expand her identity in many different directions.

The phrase “first woman” belongs specifically to Hesiod’s mythic framework. It should not be confused with every later Greek tradition about the origins of humanity, which can use different figures and genealogies.