Which ancient Greek poem tells how Pandora was created from earth?

Works and Days tells how Pandora was created from earth. The poem is attributed to Hesiod and gives the fullest surviving early account of Pandora’s creation, the gods’ contributions, and the opening of the storage jar.

In the narrative, Zeus orders Hephaestus to shape a woman from earth. The gods then add qualities and adornments, and Hermes gives her a deceptive character. Zeus sends her to Epimetheus, Prometheus’s brother, despite Prometheus’s warning not to accept gifts from Zeus. The episode connects Pandora with the poem’s broader explanation of why human life involves labor, hardship, and suffering.

The Iliad and Odyssey are also foundational Greek poems, but neither contains the complete Pandora creation story. Theogony, another poem attributed to Hesiod, mentions Pandora and the consequences of Zeus’s plan, while Works and Days supplies the narrative detail. This distinction matters because later summaries often combine material from both Hesiodic poems into one seamless version.