Who opens Pandora’s container in the best-known Greek myth?

Pandora opens the container in the best-known Greek myth.

According to Hesiod, Zeus sends Pandora to Epimetheus after Prometheus gives fire to humanity. Pandora brings the sealed vessel with her, and when she opens it, evils escape into the world. The story makes her action the turning point that explains the presence of suffering among humans.

Epimetheus is often confused with the person who opens the jar because he is Pandora’s husband and appears prominently in the surrounding story. However, Hesiod’s narrative assigns the opening itself to Pandora. Prometheus, meanwhile, is associated with stealing fire and warning Epimetheus not to accept gifts from Zeus.

Later versions sometimes add details about curiosity or deliberate temptation. Those ideas are common in modern retellings, but the ancient story’s wording and emphasis vary across translations.