Hesiod wrote the fullest surviving ancient Greek account of Pandora’s creation. His poem Works and Days describes how Zeus ordered the creation of a woman after Prometheus gave fire to humanity.
In Hesiod’s account, Hephaestus forms Pandora from earth, while different gods contribute abilities, ornaments, or other qualities. Hermes gives her a deceptive character and a voice, and the gods name her Pandora. Zeus then sends her to Epimetheus, who accepts her despite Prometheus’s warning.
Hesiod also refers to the story in the Theogony, although Works and Days supplies the more detailed narrative. The two poems are among the earliest surviving Greek literary works and are usually dated to the eighth or seventh century BCE.
Pandora is therefore primarily a figure from Hesiodic poetry rather than a major character in Homer’s epics. Later writers and artists expanded the story, helping transform Hesiod’s jar into the modern “box” image.