Zeus planned Pandora as punishment after Prometheus stole fire for humanity.
In Hesiod’s myth, Prometheus deceives Zeus during a sacrificial division and later steals fire for mortals. Zeus responds by withholding benefits from humanity and arranging the creation of Pandora. Her arrival is therefore part of the conflict between Zeus and Prometheus.
Zeus commands Hephaestus to make Pandora and directs the gods to give her various qualities. He then sends her to Epimetheus, who accepts her despite Prometheus’s warning. The container’s opening completes the punishment by introducing suffering and other troubles into human life.
The story is not simply a tale about curiosity. Its original Hesiodic setting is also a myth about divine authority, technological knowledge, sacrifice, and the difficult conditions of mortal existence. Later retellings often focus almost entirely on the container and shorten the Prometheus background.