In the Pandora’s Box myth, Zeus sent Pandora to humanity as punishment for Prometheus’s theft of fire.
In Hesiod’s account, Prometheus tricks Zeus during a sacrifice and later steals fire for human beings. Zeus responds by arranging the creation of Pandora, the first woman in the story, and sending her to Epimetheus, Prometheus’s brother. The gods equip her with attractive and persuasive qualities, and Zeus gives her a sealed container whose opening releases troubles into the world.
This episode belongs to a larger Greek myth about the origin of human hardship. Pandora is not described as independently inventing the punishment; Zeus initiates the plan. Modern retellings frequently call the container a box, but the ancient narrative uses a jar. The myth also differs between Hesiod’s works, so later versions may simplify the genealogy, the gifts, or the exact reason for the jar’s contents.