In Hesiod’s account of Pandora, Zeus ordered Hephaestus to make her from clay.
Hesiod’s Theogony says Zeus instructed Hephaestus, the divine smith, to fashion a likeness of a modest young woman from earth. The material is commonly translated as clay or earth, linking Pandora’s creation to the broader ancient idea that humans could be formed from soil. Other gods then contributed qualities, including clothing, adornment, speech, and persuasion.
This detail makes Pandora’s creation resemble a crafted statue brought to life, although the poem presents her as a living woman rather than merely an animated object. The myth also explains the name Pandora as connected with gifts from the gods.
Readers sometimes confuse clay with gold because later artistic depictions often emphasize Pandora’s beauty and divine status. In Hesiod’s creation story, however, the material explicitly associated with Hephaestus’s work is earth or clay.