Prometheus was Pandora’s husband’s brother and was punished after giving fire to humanity.
Prometheus and Epimetheus were Titans and brothers in Greek mythology. Prometheus was associated with forethought and became famous for stealing fire from the gods and giving it to mortals. Zeus punished him by chaining him to a mountain, where an eagle repeatedly ate his liver, which regenerated.
Pandora’s creation follows this conflict in Hesiod’s Works and Days. Zeus orders Hephaestus and the other gods to make Pandora as a punishment for humanity, while Epimetheus accepts her despite Prometheus’s warning. This links the Pandora story directly to the myth of stolen fire.
A common mistake is to treat Prometheus and Epimetheus as interchangeable characters. Their names and narrative roles contrast sharply: Prometheus thinks ahead and warns against Zeus’s gifts, while Epimetheus acts afterward and accepts Pandora. The two myths together explain both the arrival of fire and the spread of human suffering in Hesiod’s account.