In Hesiod’s account of Pandora’s creation, Hephaestus fashioned her from clay.
Hesiod describes Zeus ordering Hephaestus, the divine smith and craftsman, to make Pandora’s body. He shaped her from earth or clay, giving the creation a crafted, artificial origin rather than presenting her as born in the ordinary divine way.
Other gods then contributed qualities or gifts. Athena taught her crafts, Aphrodite gave her grace, and Hermes supplied persuasive speech and a deceptive character. These details explain why the name Pandora is commonly interpreted as “all-gifted” or “having all gifts.”
Hephaestus is especially appropriate in this role because Greek mythology associates him with metalworking, fire, invention, and the construction of divine objects. The myth does not portray him as Pandora’s father. Zeus commands the creation, while Hephaestus performs the physical shaping. Pandora’s creation follows Prometheus’s theft of fire and functions as Zeus’s punishment for humanity.