Hesiod first tells the complete Pandora story in Works and Days.
Hesiod was an early Greek poet traditionally dated to the late eighth or early seventh century BCE. Works and Days presents Pandora’s creation, her marriage to Epimetheus, and the opening of the jar as part of an explanation for the hardships of human life. The poem also connects the episode to Zeus’s punishment after Prometheus gave fire to mortals.
Hesiod mentions Pandora-related material in Theogony as well, but Works and Days supplies the fuller narrative familiar today. This is why the poem is the principal ancient literary source for the complete myth rather than Homer’s epics.
Later authors, translators, painters, and storytellers changed details, including the jar’s appearance and the interpretation of hope. Separating Hesiod’s account from later versions helps prevent modern illustrations or popular summaries from being mistaken for the original Greek narrative.