Which Hesiod poem gives the fullest surviving narrative of Pandora and her container?

Works and Days gives the fullest surviving narrative of Pandora and her container. The poem is attributed to the archaic Greek poet Hesiod and combines mythology with advice about farming, justice, and proper conduct.

Hesiod also mentions Pandora in the Theogony, but the account there is much shorter. Works and Days explains the creation of Pandora, her relationship with Epimetheus, and the opening of the storage vessel that releases human troubles.

The poem presents the story in the context of Zeus’s punishment of humanity after Prometheus stole fire. Pandora becomes a divinely made “gift” that brings hardship to humans. The narrative is not simply a standalone adventure: it helps explain why labor, suffering, and disease exist in the human condition.

Works and Days survives through medieval manuscript transmission and is generally dated to the late eighth or early seventh century BCE. Exact dates and details of authorship remain subjects of classical scholarship.