Hesiod tells the fullest surviving ancient story of Pandora’s jar in Works and Days.
Hesiod was an early Greek poet generally dated to the late eighth or early seventh century BCE. His Works and Days combines advice about farming and justice with myths explaining the human condition, including the creation of Pandora and the opening of her container. This makes the poem the principal ancient source for the familiar Pandora narrative.
Hesiod also mentions Pandora in the Theogony, a poem focused on the origins and generations of the gods. The Theogony contains a shorter account, while Works and Days provides more narrative detail about Pandora’s creation, her gifts, and the jar’s contents.
Homer is a neighboring major Greek poet, but the surviving Homeric epics do not provide the standard Pandora story. Ovid and Virgil were Roman authors writing later, so they are not the primary source of Hesiod’s version.