Hesiod is a poet and farmer born in Boeotia whose father immigrated from Asia Minor. He acts as the narrator of the didactic poem, offering direct advice to his brother and the broader community on the necessity of honest labor, practical farming techniques, and strict religious observance. He draws from his own life, sharing his knowledge of agriculture and his limited experience with seafaring to explain how living justly and working hard earns the approval of the gods.

Perses is Hesiod's brother, who previously seized an unfair portion of their family inheritance by bribing elders. He serves as the primary recipient of Hesiod's advice and warnings throughout the text. His actions demonstrate a preference for easy, dishonest wealth rather than the hard physical labor mandated by the Olympian gods.

Zeus is the Olympian all-father and king of mortals and immortals who actively dispenses justice and punishes wrong-doers. He decrees that men must labor as a form of justice and creates various hardships in response to Prometheus's trickery. He holds absolute authority over both the natural world and the human condition, rewarding the industrious and destroying the wicked.

Prometheus is a Titan god whose name translates to "forethought." He repeatedly defies Zeus to help mankind, tricking the king of the gods with a meat offering and later stealing fire back for mortals. His rebellious actions result in severe, physical punishment for himself and trigger Zeus's retaliation against all of humanity.

Hephaestus is the Olympian god of artisans, craftsmen, and metalwork. Acting on Zeus's direct instructions, he mixes earth and water to mold the physical form of Pandora, endowing her with human voice and strength.

Athena is the Olympian goddess of wisdom, strategic warfare, and crafts. She contributes to Pandora's creation by teaching her the art of weaving and providing her with proper clothing and adornments.

Aphrodite is the golden goddess of love, beauty, passion, and pleasure. She gives Pandora physical attractiveness designed to inspire consuming obsession and painful yearning in mortal men.

Hermes is the messenger god and patron of thieves, travelers, and trickery. He instills Pandora with wily pretenses, a knavish nature, and cunning, before physically delivering her to Epimetheus as a supposed gift from the Olympian gods.

Epimetheus is the brother of Prometheus, whose name translates to "hindsight" or "afterthought." Despite his brother's explicit warning never to accept gifts from the Olympian gods, he takes Pandora into his home, realizing the foolishness of his actions only after the damage is done.

Pandora is the first woman, whose name means "all gifts," created as both a punishment and a delight for mortal men. Fashioned from earth and water and endowed with specific traits by various Olympians, she brings a jar containing suffering, toil, and sickness, which she eventually unleashes upon previously carefree mankind.