In Hesiod’s account of Pandora, Hermes taught her deceptive speech. The messenger god was one of the deities involved in giving Pandora qualities before Zeus sent her to humanity.
Hesiod describes Pandora’s creation and gifts in Works and Days. He presents her as a constructed figure whose appearance and abilities were supplied by different gods. Athena gave her practical skills, Aphrodite gave her beauty and desire, and Hermes gave her a deceptive or shameless character in the Greek account.
This detail is often lost in modern retellings, which usually focus only on the opened container and the escape of evils. Hesiod’s story is more elaborate and presents Pandora as part of Zeus’s deliberate punishment of human beings.
Hermes is sometimes remembered mainly as a messenger, traveler, and guide of souls. In this myth, however, his role is specifically connected with speech, persuasion, and deceit.