Which poem by Hesiod says that Pandora’s vessel released evils into the human world?
Answer
Works and Days
Answer
Works and Days
Hesiod’s poem Works and Days says that Pandora’s vessel released evils into the human world. The poem presents Pandora within a broader explanation of work, justice, agriculture, and the difficult conditions of human life.
In its Pandora episode, Zeus’s punishment follows Prometheus’s theft of fire. Pandora is sent to Epimetheus, and when the vessel is opened, diseases and other troubles escape. Hope remains inside according to the familiar version of the story, although this question concerns the poem’s identification rather than the vessel’s contents.
Hesiod’s Theogony also mentions Pandora-related events, but it does not provide the same extended account of the vessel opening. Works and Days is therefore the key source for the full episode. The poem is generally dated to the archaic period of Greek literature, often around the seventh century BCE.
Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Oct. 2026