Epimetheus received Pandora despite Prometheus warning him against gifts from Zeus.
In Hesiod’s story, Prometheus recognizes the danger posed by Zeus and tells his brother Epimetheus not to accept anything from the god. Epimetheus nevertheless accepts Pandora when she is sent to him. The narrative uses the brothers’ contrasting names and behavior to underline their personalities: Prometheus is associated with forethought, while Epimetheus is associated with thought after the event.
Pandora’s arrival is part of Zeus’s punishment of humanity after Prometheus’s theft of fire. Once Pandora opens the vessel, suffering enters human life, while hope remains inside according to the traditional interpretation of the passage.
The name Epimetheus is sometimes treated as a simple synonym for foolishness, but the myth is more specific. His role is defined through the contrast with Prometheus and through his acceptance of Zeus’s gift, not through a separate story about opening the jar.