In Greek mythology, Hermes gives Pandora a deceptive mind and a lying tongue. In Hesiod’s Works and Days, Zeus assigns the messenger god a role in completing Pandora’s character before she is sent to Epimetheus.
Hermes is associated with messages, trade, cleverness, boundaries, and trickery. His contribution fits the poem’s portrayal of Pandora as attractive but potentially deceptive. The story is part of Hesiod’s explanation of why suffering and difficult labor exist in human life after Prometheus takes fire from the gods.
This detail is often confused with Hermes’s more general role as Pandora’s escort. In the myth, several gods contribute different qualities: Hephaestus makes her, Athena teaches skills, Aphrodite supplies beauty and desire, and Hermes contributes deceptive speech and temperament.
Hesiod’s account is also shaped by the values and assumptions of archaic Greek society. Modern retellings frequently simplify the episode into a single “curse,” while the original poem distributes Pandora’s creation among multiple gods.