Which ancient Greek poem tells the jar-opening episode of Pandora’s myth?

The ancient Greek poem Works and Days tells the jar-opening episode of Pandora’s myth.

Hesiod composed Works and Days in archaic Greece, probably around the seventh century BCE. The poem combines advice about farming and justice with myths explaining why human life includes labor and suffering. In its Pandora episode, Zeus has Pandora bring a storage vessel into the human world; she opens it, releasing troubles before hope remains inside.

Hesiod also mentions Pandora in Theogony, but that earlier poem emphasizes her creation and the gods’ gifts rather than narrating the complete jar-opening scene. This distinction matters because modern summaries often treat both poems as one continuous account.

The Greek title Erga kai Hemerai literally means “Works and Days.” It is one of the earliest surviving Greek didactic poems and is an important source for the earliest written form of the Pandora tradition.