Pandora
Πανδώρα
The first woman, fashioned by the gods as a punishment and sent into the world.
In retaliation for Prometheus stealing fire, Hephaestus molded her from clay at Zeus's command.
Her name means "she who received all gifts" — each god added a talent of their own.
When she opened the forbidden vessel, every misery scattered into the world, and only hope remained at the bottom.
SourcesHesiod, Theogony · Works and Days
Commonly confused
In the original it is not a box but a jar (pithos). When Erasmus translated it into Latin in the 16th century, he wrote pyxis (a small casket), and "box" stuck.