In Greek mythology, which goddess gives Pandora beauty and desire?

In Greek mythology, Aphrodite gives Pandora beauty and desire.

Hesiod’s Works and Days presents Pandora as a figure assembled through contributions from several gods. Aphrodite, the goddess of love and sexual attraction, gives Pandora grace, beauty, and the power of desire. These qualities help explain why Pandora is presented as alluring while also being associated with danger in Hesiod’s account.

The episode is part of a larger creation sequence. Hephaestus shapes Pandora from earth, Athena dresses and teaches her, and Hermes contributes a deceptive character and voice. Zeus directs the process as a punishment connected with Prometheus’s theft of fire for humanity. Pandora is therefore not an accidental figure but part of a deliberate divine plan.

Modern retellings often describe Aphrodite simply as giving Pandora beauty. Hesiod’s account is broader and connects her gifts to sexual attraction and charm. This detail also differs from the later popular image in which Pandora is defined almost entirely by opening a box; the original story spends considerable attention on her creation and the gods’ individual contributions.