Which ancient Greek work tells the fullest surviving story of Pandora’s jar?

Works and Days tells the fullest surviving ancient story of Pandora’s jar. The poem is attributed to Hesiod and combines practical advice about farming and justice with myths explaining the human condition.

Its Pandora episode follows the theft of fire by Prometheus. Zeus responds by arranging Pandora’s creation and sending her to Epimetheus. When she opens the pithos, hardships spread among humans, while hope remains inside.

Hesiod’s Theogony also mentions Pandora, but its treatment is briefer. The fuller narrative in Works and Days is why that poem is the central ancient source for the familiar myth. Later authors, translators, artists, and modern storytellers expanded or altered details, especially by turning the jar into a box.