Prometheus was the Greek god who stole fire for humanity, an act that led to Pandora’s creation.
Prometheus was a Titan associated with intelligence, craft, and forethought. In Greek myth, he obtained fire from the gods and gave it to humans, allowing them to cook food, work metal, and develop civilization. Different ancient accounts describe the theft in different ways, including stealing fire from Zeus or carrying it in a fennel stalk.
Zeus punished Prometheus severely by having him chained to a mountain, where an eagle consumed his liver each day. The liver grew back overnight, making the punishment perpetual until Heracles eventually freed him in later myth.
The Pandora story presents her creation as another punishment for Prometheus’s action. Zeus sends Pandora to Epimetheus, Prometheus’s brother, and the opening of her container releases suffering into the human world. The two myths are therefore closely connected in Hesiod’s account.