Which Hesiod poem first tells the full story of Pandora and her jar?

Hesiod’s Works and Days first tells the full story of Pandora and her jar.

Works and Days is an ancient Greek didactic poem traditionally attributed to Hesiod, generally dated to the late eighth or early seventh century BCE. It combines advice about farming, justice, work and religious practice with myths explaining the difficult condition of human life.

The Pandora episode appears after the story of Prometheus and fire. Zeus commands the gods to create a woman, and the gods give her various qualities before she is sent to Epimetheus. Hesiod describes her opening a container and releasing destructive troubles into the world, while one thing remains inside.

Hesiod’s Theogony also mentions Pandora in connection with the creation of women and the consequences of Prometheus’s actions, but it does not provide the same complete narrative. Works and Days is therefore the key ancient literary source for the familiar story. The poem’s purpose is moral and theological, not merely to provide an adventure tale.