Hesiod describes Pandora as the source of human toil in Works and Days.
Works and Days presents a moral and practical vision of life in which work is necessary and justice matters. In its Pandora narrative, Zeus’s punishment introduces troubles and labor into the human condition. The myth thus explains not only the jar’s contents but also why people must work for their livelihood.
Hesiod’s version differs from many modern summaries that focus only on curiosity and disaster. The poem connects Pandora with a broader account of divine-human relations, sacrifice, fire, agriculture, and the difficulties of mortal existence. It is not simply a short adventure about opening a container.
The wording “source of human toil” should not be confused with the claim that Pandora personally invented every form of work. Rather, the myth gives a divine origin story for the burdens and hardships that characterize human life. Hesiod is the poet associated with this explanation, not Homer or a later dramatist.