Which poem by Hesiod contains the longest surviving version of the Pandora myth?

Works and Days contains the longest surviving version of the Pandora myth by Hesiod. The poem is a didactic work that combines advice about farming and justice with stories explaining why human life involves labor and hardship.

The Pandora episode appears after the account of Prometheus stealing fire. Hesiod uses the story to explain how suffering entered the human condition and why work became unavoidable. Pandora is described as a divinely fashioned woman whose arrival leads to the release of harmful forces previously contained from humanity.

Theogony, another poem attributed to Hesiod, also refers to Pandora but gives a briefer treatment. The distinction matters because readers sometimes cite Theogony as though it contains the complete narrative. The famous modern phrase “Pandora’s box” comes from later developments in the tradition, while Works and Days uses the Greek word pithos for the vessel.