Epimetheus accepted Pandora into his home after his brother Prometheus warned him against gifts from Zeus.
The brothers’ names reflect their contrasting qualities. Prometheus is commonly understood as “foresight,” while Epimetheus suggests “afterthought” or thinking after the event. In Hesiod’s story, Prometheus recognizes the danger of accepting a gift from Zeus, but Epimetheus does not follow that advice.
Pandora is sent to Epimetheus as part of Zeus’s punishment connected with Prometheus’s theft of fire. Once she arrives, the story moves toward the opening of the sealed container and the spread of troubles among humans.
Epimetheus is not simply portrayed as foolish in every ancient tradition. He is also associated with distributing traits to animals in Plato’s Protagoras, where his lack of foresight creates a problem that Prometheus must solve. The Pandora story is his best-known mythic episode.