Prometheus is the Titan who steals fire for humanity in the myth surrounding Pandora’s creation. His act defies Zeus and leads to a punishment that includes the creation and delivery of Pandora.
In Hesiod’s Works and Days, Prometheus deceives Zeus during a sacrifice and later takes fire for humans. Zeus responds by arranging Pandora as a destructive gift for mankind. The two episodes are therefore connected within the poem’s explanation of why human life includes labor, suffering, and hardship.
Prometheus is often called a god in modern summaries, but Greek myth classifies him as a Titan. He is also frequently confused with Epimetheus, Pandora’s husband and his brother. Prometheus represents foresight and resistance to Zeus, while Epimetheus represents belated understanding and accepts the gift that Prometheus rejected.