Which ancient Greek poem introduces Pandora as the first woman created by the gods?

The story behind the answer

The ancient Greek poem that introduces Pandora as the first woman created by the gods is Works and Days.

Hesiod’s Works and Days, usually dated to the seventh century BCE, contains the fullest early narrative of Pandora’s creation and the opening of her container. The poem presents the episode as part of Zeus’s punishment of humanity after Prometheus took fire for mortals. Pandora is made by divine command and sent to the human world.

Hesiod also refers to Pandora in Theogony, but that poem gives a briefer account rather than the extended narrative found in Works and Days. The Iliad and Odyssey are attributed to Homer and do not provide the standard Pandora creation story. This difference is important when identifying the earliest literary source for the complete episode.

Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Oct. 2026

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