Epimetheus

Epimetheus is a Titan, son of Iapetus, and brother to Prometheus, Atlas, and Menoetius. Hesiod calls him "scatter-brained," the deliberate opposite of clever Prometheus, whose name means "Forethought." Prometheus warned him never to accept a gift from Zeus, but Epimetheus took Pandora, the first woman, as his wife anyway, and only understood the harm she carried once the damage was already done.

By Mythographia Editorial Team Reviewed by Mythographia Editorial Team Updated 2026-09-08

Core Myth

Hesiod's Theogony names Epimetheus among the sons of the Titan Iapetus, alongside Atlas, who bears up the sky, and Menoetius, struck down by Zeus's thunderbolt. Their brother Prometheus is "clever...full of various wiles"; Epimetheus, by contrast, is "scatter-brained," a name that literally means Afterthought, set against Prometheus's Forethought. The pairing is the whole point of the myth: after Prometheus steals fire for humanity, Zeus retaliates by having Hephaestus fashion a woman, Pandora, as a trap. Hesiod's Works and Days spells out what Theogony only implies: Prometheus tells his brother in plain terms never to accept a gift from Olympian Zeus, in case it turns out to be something harmful to men. Epimetheus does not remember the warning. He accepts Pandora, and only realizes what he has done after the harm is already loose in the world.

Who are Epimetheus's parents and siblings?

Epimetheus is a son of the Titan Iapetus. Hesiod's Theogony names his brothers in the same breath: strong Atlas, glorious Menoetius, and clever, scheming Prometheus.

Hesiod, Theogony 509-511

What does the name Epimetheus mean, and why is it paired with Prometheus?

Epimetheus means roughly "Afterthought," the deliberate reverse of Prometheus's "Forethought." Hesiod calls one brother clever and the other scatter-brained in the same sentence, framing them as a matched pair before either does anything: one thinks ahead, the other only understands a mistake once it has already happened.

Hesiod, Theogony 509-511

Why did Epimetheus accept Pandora despite his brother's warning?

Prometheus told him plainly never to accept a gift from Olympian Zeus, in case it hid something harmful, and to send it back. Epimetheus forgot the warning, accepted Pandora as his wife, and only understood the trouble once the harm she carried was already his.

Hesiod, Works and Days 86-90

What happened after Pandora arrived in Epimetheus's house?

Pandora lifted the lid of a great storage jar kept in the house and scattered sorrow, disease, and hard labor across the earth. Only Hope remained trapped beneath the jar's rim, unable to escape before the lid shut again, so humanity was left with troubles but not entirely without hope.

Hesiod, Works and Days 94-99

Does Epimetheus have any descendants in later myth?

Apollodorus's Library names Pyrrha as the daughter of Epimetheus and Pandora. Pyrrha marries Deucalion, Prometheus's son, and the pair are the only humans Zeus spares when he floods the earth to end the Bronze Age, making Epimetheus's household the ancestors of the people who repopulate the world afterward.

Apollodorus, Library 1.7.2

Is Epimetheus treated as a villain in ancient sources, or something else?

Ancient sources treat him less as a villain than as a cautionary contrast to Prometheus: not malicious, just unable to think past the moment in front of him. Hesiod's own language, calling him "a mischief to men who eat bread," blames the consequences of his choice without painting him as cruel or scheming, the way Zeus's plan against Prometheus is described.

Hesiod, Theogony 511-514

Later Traditions

Works and Days follows the story past the wedding: Pandora lifts the lid of a great jar in the house and scatters sorrow and disease across the earth, and only Hope stays trapped inside under the rim, unable to fly out the door before the lid closes again. Apollodorus's Library carries the bloodline one generation further, naming Pyrrha as the daughter of Epimetheus and Pandora. Pyrrha marries Deucalion, son of Prometheus, and the two of them survive the flood Zeus sends to destroy the Bronze Age, making Epimetheus and Pandora's household, for all its trouble, the ancestral pair of the human race that follows.

Lineage

See the full family tree

3 recorded relations, each with the ancient line behind it.

Parents

Iapetus Hesiod, Theogony 507-511
Their mother is Clymene, an Oceanid; Epimetheus later accepts Pandora despite his brother Prometheus's warning.

Siblings

Atlas Hesiod, Theogony 509-511
Both are sons of the Titan Iapetus, named together with their brothers Prometheus and Menoetius.
Prometheus Hesiod, Theogony 509-511
Both are sons of the Titan Iapetus, named together with their brothers Atlas and Menoetius.

Also Connected

2 recorded connections, each with the ancient line behind it.

Connected

Pandora Hesiod, Works and Days 86-90
Epimetheus accepts Pandora as his wife despite Prometheus's warning, the decision his whole myth turns on.
Zeus Hesiod, Works and Days 86-90
Pandora is Zeus's engineered punishment for Prometheus's theft of fire, and Epimetheus is the means by which it reaches humanity.