Hesiod is credited with the earliest surviving literary mention of Pandora.
Hesiod was a Greek poet generally dated to the late eighth or early seventh century BCE. His two surviving major poems, Theogony and Works and Days, preserve the earliest detailed literary versions of the Pandora story. The poems present the episode in different ways, but both connect Pandora with Zeus, Prometheus, and the arrival of troubles among human beings.
Theogony focuses on the divine genealogy and the creation of the first woman. Works and Days places the story in a moral and instructional discussion about work, justice, and the consequences of conflict between gods and humans. These accounts are important because they are the earliest surviving written sources, not necessarily proof that Hesiod invented every element of the tradition.
Hesiod’s version also differs from many modern retellings. The ancient narrative emphasizes deception, labor, and the burden of evils, while later popular culture often reduces the story to a simple warning about curiosity. The familiar English phrase “Pandora’s box” likewise reflects later translation history rather than Hesiod’s exact wording.