What is Pandora commonly described as being in Greek mythology, before humans existed?

Pandora is commonly described as the first woman in Greek mythology before humans existed in their later condition.

Hesiod presents her creation as the beginning of the female human race. Zeus orders the gods to create her after Prometheus deceives him and steals fire for humanity. Pandora is therefore placed at the beginning of a mythic explanation for marriage, childbirth, household life, and human suffering.

This description belongs to Greek myth, not to a historical account of human origins. Ancient Greek stories vary in emphasis, and later writers do not always preserve Hesiod’s exact sequence or purpose. In many modern retellings, Pandora is treated primarily as the woman who opens the container, while her role as the first woman receives less attention.

The phrase can also cause confusion with Eve in Genesis, another famous first-woman figure from a different religious tradition. Pandora and Eve are not the same character, and their stories come from separate cultural and literary contexts.