Which ancient Greek poem tells the best-known story of Pandora's jar?

Works and Days tells the best-known story of Pandora’s jar.

Works and Days is a didactic poem traditionally attributed to Hesiod, who is usually dated to the late eighth or early seventh century BCE. It combines practical advice about farming and justice with myths explaining the human condition, including the story of Pandora and the release of troubles.

Hesiod also mentions Pandora in the Theogony, but the fuller account of her creation, marriage to Epimetheus, and the sealed container appears in Works and Days. This distinction matters because popular retellings sometimes treat all ancient sources as if they told exactly the same version.

The poem addresses a brother involved in a dispute over property and argues that justice, honest labor, and proper conduct are essential. Pandora’s story supports that larger argument by explaining why human beings cannot expect a life free from toil. Its mythic material is therefore embedded in a work with moral, economic, and agricultural concerns.