Hesiod composed the ancient Greek poem that includes the fullest surviving account of Pandora’s creation. His Works and Days, generally dated to the late eighth or early seventh century BCE, explains how Zeus arranged for Pandora to be made as part of humanity’s punishment after Prometheus stole fire.
The poem describes Pandora’s fashioning and adornment by several gods. It also presents the opening of her vessel and the escape of destructive forces, with hope remaining inside. Hesiod’s account is the main ancient source behind the later expression “Pandora’s box.”
Hesiod is traditionally associated with two major surviving poems: Works and Days and the Theogony. Works and Days is a didactic poem concerned with farming, justice, labor, and proper conduct, while the Theogony describes the origins and genealogy of the gods. The Pandora episode belongs especially to Works and Days, although the Theogony contains a related account of the consequences of Prometheus’s deception.
The exact dates of Hesiod’s life are uncertain, but he is commonly placed near the beginning of Greek literary history, alongside Homer.