In Greek mythology, Hephaestus is instructed to fashion Pandora from earth.
In Hesiod’s Works and Days, Zeus orders Hephaestus to create Pandora as part of his punishment of humanity after Prometheus steals fire. Hephaestus, the divine craftsman, shapes her from earth, giving the episode a deliberate echo of human creation.
Other gods then contribute qualities or gifts. Athena teaches her useful crafts, Aphrodite grants beauty, and Hermes gives her a deceptive nature and persuasive speech. These separate roles are sometimes compressed in modern retellings into the vague claim that “the gods” simply made Pandora.
Pandora’s creation is therefore different from the later opening of the jar. The myth’s central sequence is Prometheus’s theft of fire, Zeus’s command, Hephaestus’s craftsmanship, Pandora’s arrival among humans, and the release of troubles from the jar. The familiar expression “Pandora’s box” also reflects a later misunderstanding: Hesiod describes a large storage jar, not a box.