In Hesiod’s account of Pandora, Hermes gave her deceit along with the power of speech.
Hesiod describes the creation of Pandora in Works and Days, where Zeus directs the gods to make her as part of a punishment for humanity. Different gods provide different attributes: Hephaestus shapes her, Athena teaches her crafts, and Aphrodite gives her charm. Hermes contributes a deceptive or shameless character and gives her speech.
Translations vary in their exact wording. Greek terms in this passage can be rendered with ideas such as “lies,” “deceit,” “shamelessness,” or “a thievish nature.” The answer “deceit” identifies the central quality without pretending that every translation uses the same English phrase.
Hesiod’s Pandora is not simply a curious woman in a children’s story. She is part of an etiological myth explaining why human life contains hardship. Later retellings often merge or simplify details from Hesiod’s two works.