Zeus ordered the creation of Pandora as punishment for Prometheus’s theft of fire.
In Hesiod’s Works and Days, Zeus is the highest authority among the gods and directs the plan against humanity. He tells Hephaestus to make a woman from earth, while other gods add gifts or attributes that help shape her appearance and character.
The punishment is part of a sequence involving Prometheus. After Prometheus deceives Zeus over the division of a sacrifice, he steals fire for humans. Zeus responds first by withholding fire and then by arranging Pandora’s creation. The myth thus links divine power, human progress, and the cost of challenging the gods.
Later versions often portray Zeus as simply angry with humanity, but Hesiod’s narrative includes several connected acts of retaliation. Pandora is one element in the larger Prometheus cycle.