In later retellings of the Pandora myth, Hephaestus created Pandora from clay. Hephaestus was the Greek god of fire, metalworking, craftsmanship, and the forge, making him the natural divine artisan for the task.
Hesiod’s Works and Days says that Zeus ordered Hephaestus to make a woman, but the poem emphasizes the gods’ contributions more than a sculpting scene. Artists and later writers developed the image of Hephaestus shaping Pandora from earth or clay, much as a craftsman forms a figure in a workshop.
This detail is sometimes confused with other creation traditions, especially the story of Prometheus forming humans from clay. In Pandora’s myth, Prometheus is associated with stealing fire and helping humanity, while Hephaestus is the divine craftsman who fashions Pandora in the later visual tradition.