In the standard Greek myth, Prometheus warned Epimetheus not to accept gifts from Zeus before Pandora arrived.
Prometheus and Epimetheus were Titan brothers whose names create a contrast between foresight and afterthought. Prometheus recognized the danger of accepting a gift from Zeus and advised Epimetheus to reject it. Epimetheus nevertheless accepted Pandora, illustrating the meaning associated with his name.
The warning is part of Hesiod’s explanation of how suffering entered the human world. Pandora’s arrival follows the conflict over fire, and her container releases illnesses and other troubles after she opens it.
This episode is sometimes blended with later versions in which Pandora’s curiosity receives most of the attention. The older story also emphasizes Epimetheus’s failure to follow Prometheus’s warning, making the brothers central to the narrative’s moral structure.