In Hesiod’s description of Pandora, her body was shaped from clay. The creation scene presents the gods making the first woman as an artificial figure before giving her divine attributes.
Hephaestus, the divine smith, is associated with forming Pandora’s body at Zeus’s command. The material links the episode with a broader ancient Mediterranean image of humans being shaped from earth or clay. Pandora’s construction is therefore both physical craftsmanship and divine design.
The clay detail should not be confused with the container in the story. Pandora’s body and the vessel are separate elements: the woman is fashioned as part of Zeus’s plan, while the jar contains the evils that later spread among mortals. Modern illustrations often emphasize the vessel and omit the creation material.
Ancient versions vary in wording and detail, but clay is the standard material associated with Pandora’s formation in the surviving mythic tradition. The story’s central contrast is between crafted mortal humanity and the immortal gods who engineer Pandora’s arrival.