1) Zeus ordered Hephaestus to create the first woman, Pandora, from clay as punishment for humanity after Prometheus stole fire. The gods gifted Pandora with wisdom, beauty, and cunning. 2) Pandora was sent to earth with a jar containing all of humanity's calamities. Overcome by curiosity, Pandora opened the jar releasing evils like hate, war, and disease. 3) At the bottom of the jar, Zeus had left hope for humanity. The story of Pandora's "box" is a mistranslation - Pandora actually opened a large pithos storage jar.