In Hesiod’s account of Pandora, Hephaestus fashioned her human-shaped body.
Works and Days describes Zeus ordering Hephaestus to make a figure resembling a modest young woman. Hephaestus was the Olympian god of fire, metalworking, craftsmanship, and the forge, making him the natural divine artisan for this task. The passage presents Pandora as an intentional creation assembled through divine labor.
Other gods then contributed qualities or adornments. Athena taught her crafts, Aphrodite gave her grace, and Hermes supplied a deceptive mind and speech in Hesiod’s account. These details show that Pandora is not simply born in the ordinary mythological way; she is manufactured and equipped by the gods.
Hephaestus’s role is sometimes confused with the later visual tradition of Pandora emerging from a container. Hesiod’s text describes her creation, but the familiar “box” formulation developed later. The ancient story’s central vessel was a jar, while Hephaestus’s contribution concerned Pandora herself.