Epimetheus is Pandora’s husband or companion in later retellings of the myth. In Hesiod’s account, he is her husband and the brother of Prometheus.
The name Epimetheus is commonly explained as “afterthought” or “hindsight,” contrasting with Prometheus, whose name is associated with forethought. This contrast reflects the brothers’ different responses to Pandora: Prometheus warns against accepting gifts from Zeus, while Epimetheus accepts her.
Pandora’s opening of the jar is therefore connected to Epimetheus’s failure to follow his brother’s warning. The ancient story does not present the relationship in the detailed romantic style common in modern adaptations.
Epimetheus is also a Titan in Greek mythology. He appears less often than Prometheus, but his role is essential to the Pandora narrative because he receives the divine gift that brings the vessel and its consequences into the human world.