In Hesiod’s account of Pandora, Hermes placed lies in her speech.
Works and Days describes Zeus assigning the messenger god Hermes a role in Pandora’s preparation. Hermes is associated with giving her a shameless mind and a lying nature, wording that establishes deception as part of the divine punishment sent to humanity.
This detail is easy to miss because popular retellings usually focus on the container and the escaping evils. Hesiod’s Pandora is assembled through many divine contributions, and her speech is one part of that larger portrait. The myth therefore links the dangers of the world not only with physical suffering but also with deceit.
The passage should not be confused with later ideas about Hermes as a patron of eloquence or clever negotiation. In Pandora’s creation story, his contribution has a specifically negative moral function. Translations differ slightly, but “lies” or “lying speech” conveys the central idea.