Who received Pandora as a gift after Zeus sent her into the world?

Epimetheus received Pandora as a gift after Zeus sent her into the world.

In Hesiod’s account, Zeus sends Pandora to Epimetheus as part of his punishment connected with Prometheus and the theft of fire. Epimetheus accepts her even though Prometheus had warned him not to accept anything from Zeus. Pandora subsequently opens the container holding destructive forces.

Epimetheus’s name is traditionally interpreted as “afterthought,” contrasting with Prometheus, whose name suggests “forethought.” This contrast gives the brothers symbolic roles in the narrative: Prometheus anticipates danger, while Epimetheus acts and understands the consequences afterward.

The story does not present Pandora as a bride chosen through a normal human courtship. She is a divinely made figure delivered as a calculated gift. Later retellings often simplify the sequence and describe Pandora as Epimetheus’s wife, but the ancient story’s emphasis is on Zeus’s deceptive gift and the brothers’ opposing judgments.