Which Greek poem says Zeus sent Pandora as punishment after Prometheus stole fire?
Answer
Works and Days
Works and Days says Zeus sent Pandora as punishment after Prometheus stole fire.
The poem, traditionally attributed to Hesiod, connects Pandora’s arrival with Prometheus’s theft of fire for humanity. Zeus responds by arranging the creation of Pandora, whose beauty and gifts conceal the troubles that will enter human life. The episode forms part of a wider explanation for why humans must work, suffer, and endure hardship.
Hesiod also discusses Pandora in Theogony, but Works and Days gives the fuller narrative of her creation, marriage to Epimetheus, and opening of the vessel. The two poems overlap in their treatment of the myth while differing in detail and emphasis.
The story is therefore not originally a standalone tale called “Pandora’s Box.” It appears within an archaic Greek poem concerned with justice, labor, agriculture, and the relationship between gods and humans. The modern phrase developed later from the jar at the center of the episode.