In Greek mythology, who fashioned Pandora from clay at Zeus’s command?

In Greek mythology, Hephaestus fashioned Pandora from clay at Zeus’s command.

Hesiod’s account presents Pandora as an artificial woman created by the gods. Zeus ordered Hephaestus, the divine smith and craftsman, to shape her from earth or clay. Other gods then gave her different qualities and adornments, making her a collective divine creation rather than the work of one deity alone.

This detail appears in Hesiod’s Works and Days, the earliest surviving literary account of the Pandora story. The myth explains why Zeus sent Pandora to Epimetheus as part of a punishment directed at humanity after Prometheus gave people fire.

A common mix-up is assigning Pandora’s creation to Prometheus, because Prometheus is associated with creating or helping humanity in other Greek traditions. In Hesiod’s version, however, Hephaestus performs the physical act of making Pandora.