Hesiod describes Pandora’s arrival as the beginning of troubles for humanity in Works and Days.
Hesiod was an early Greek poet generally dated to the late eighth or early seventh century BCE. His poem Works and Days contains the fullest surviving account of Pandora’s creation, marriage to Epimetheus, and opening of the container that releases evils into the world.
The poem is not simply a narrative myth collection. Works and Days also discusses farming, justice, family obligations, seafaring, and the moral order Zeus is said to maintain. Pandora’s story appears within that broader discussion of why human life involves labor and suffering.
Hesiod also mentions Pandora-related material in Theogony, although the presentation is shorter and differs in emphasis. Homer does not provide the familiar Pandora narrative. Later Greek, Roman, and European writers expanded the myth, which is why modern versions can contain details not found directly in Hesiod.