Prometheus stole fire from the gods and gave it to humanity before Pandora appeared in the Greek myth. His act brought practical knowledge and power to humans, but Zeus treated it as a serious challenge to divine authority.
In Hesiod’s account, Zeus’s response involved two linked punishments. Prometheus was punished directly, while humanity received Pandora as a deceptive gift. The Pandora story therefore belongs to the same mythic cycle as the theft of fire rather than standing as an unrelated tale.
Prometheus is a Titan, and later Greek traditions often portray him as a benefactor of humankind, a culture hero, or a rebellious challenger of Zeus. The best-known punishment, in which an eagle continually eats his liver, is associated especially with later versions such as Aeschylus’s Prometheus Bound. Ancient sources vary in detail, so the fire theft and Pandora connection are the safest core facts.