Hesiod gives the earliest surviving literary account of Pandora’s box.
Hesiod was an ancient Greek poet generally dated to the late eighth or early seventh century BCE. His Works and Days contains the detailed story of Pandora, her creation, her marriage to Epimetheus, and the opening of the storage jar. His Theogony also discusses Pandora’s creation in a shorter context.
Hesiod’s account connects the myth to Prometheus’s theft of fire. Zeus responds by arranging Pandora’s creation and sending her to Epimetheus. The story therefore functions as part of a larger explanation for why human life includes labor, suffering, and uncertainty.
Homer is another major early Greek poet, but the Pandora narrative is not preserved as a Homeric episode. Later authors, artists, and translators reshaped the story, helping produce the familiar expression “Pandora’s box.”