Hesiod’s Works and Days gives the fullest early account of Pandora’s creation and the opening of her jar.
The poem, usually dated to the late eighth or early seventh century BCE, presents Pandora as part of Zeus’s punishment of humanity after Prometheus stole fire. The gods contribute different gifts, and Zeus sends Pandora to Epimetheus, who accepts her despite Prometheus’s warning.
Hesiod also mentions Pandora in the Theogony, but that shorter passage does not provide the same detailed narrative. The familiar phrase “Pandora’s box” is based on later translations and adaptations: Hesiod describes a large storage jar, or pithos, rather than a small box.
Works and Days is not only a mythological poem. It also discusses farming, justice, labor, seafaring, and the succession of human ages, making Pandora’s story part of a wider reflection on why work and suffering exist in the world.