Hesiod first records the Pandora story in the surviving poem Works and Days.
Works and Days is an archaic Greek didactic poem traditionally attributed to Hesiod, who is usually dated to the late eighth or early seventh century BCE. Its account of Pandora connects the origin of human hardship with the conflict between Zeus and Prometheus. The poem includes the opening of a storage vessel and the release of evils into the world.
Hesiod also mentions Pandora in the Theogony, another poem traditionally attributed to him. The two works do not provide an identical amount of detail, and Works and Days is the source most commonly used when discussing the vessel, the escaping evils, and the remaining hope.
Homer is a frequent wrong answer because he is the other major early Greek epic poet. However, the surviving Homeric poems do not contain the familiar Pandora narrative. Later writers, artists, and translators expanded the story’s influence across European culture.