In Greek mythology, which god was ordered to mold Pandora from earth?

In Greek mythology, Hephaestus was ordered to mold Pandora from earth. Hesiod presents Zeus as directing the creation of the first woman after Prometheus gave fire to humanity.

Hephaestus was the divine craftsman of Greek mythology, so his role in shaping Pandora fits his association with metalwork, construction, and skilled making. In the account from Works and Days, Zeus instructs him to form a figure resembling a modest young woman. Other gods then add qualities and adornments to the creation.

This detail is sometimes confused with the gods who gave Pandora particular attributes. Athena taught her crafts, while Aphrodite gave her charm, and Hermes supplied persuasive or deceptive speech in later descriptions. Those contributions are separate from the act of molding her body.

Pandora’s creation story functions within Hesiod’s explanation of why suffering entered human life. It is not the same episode as the later visual tradition of a woman simply discovering a box; the earliest literary story uses a jar and emphasizes divine manufacture.