In Greek mythology, Hermes gives Pandora a deceptive voice and name.
Hesiod’s Theogony describes Zeus ordering Hermes to give Pandora a human voice and to place in her a “doglike mind” and a deceitful character. Hermes is the Olympian messenger and a god associated with communication, travel, and cunning, making him the deity assigned the verbal and deceptive aspects of Pandora’s creation.
Other gods contribute different qualities in later summaries of the myth, including beauty, clothing, and adornment. These details are often blended together across Hesiod’s Theogony and Works and Days. The story is consequently more complex than the short modern version in which Pandora simply opens a box. The “box” itself is a later translation of the original Greek jar, while Hermes’s role belongs to the literary creation scene.