Hesiod described Pandora’s creation in both Theogony and Works and Days. Hesiod was an early Greek poet traditionally dated to around the late eighth or early seventh century BCE, though the exact dates and details of his life remain uncertain.
Theogony presents Pandora in the context of the conflict between Zeus and Prometheus, while Works and Days gives the fuller account of her creation and the release of evils into the human world. The two poems are related but not identical in emphasis, so consulting only one can leave out important parts of the tradition.
Works and Days also presents a practical and moral framework for human life, discussing labor, justice, farming, seafaring, and the difficult conditions of existence. Pandora’s story fits that larger argument by explaining why human life includes hardship and why work is unavoidable.
Hesiod is often paired with Homer as one of the earliest named Greek poets, but the Pandora account is Hesiodic rather than Homeric. The familiar phrase “Pandora’s box” also comes from later tradition: Hesiod’s vessel was a jar, commonly identified with a pithos.