In Hesiod’s Greek myth, which god shaped Pandora’s human body from clay?

In Hesiod’s Greek myth, Hephaestus shaped Pandora’s human body from clay.

Hesiod’s Works and Days describes Pandora as a woman created at Zeus’s command after Prometheus gave fire to humanity. Zeus ordered Hephaestus, the divine smith and craftsman, to form her from earth, often translated in modern retellings as clay.

Other gods then contributed qualities or gifts. Athena taught Pandora crafts, while Aphrodite gave her beauty and charm. Hermes supplied a deceptive or untrustworthy character in the account’s moral framework. The name Pandora means “all-gifted” or “all-giving,” reflecting this collective divine contribution.

The myth is not a single modern picture-book story: Hesiod presents it in two ancient works with different details. The familiar phrase “Pandora’s box” is also later than the Greek jar imagery. Still, Hephaestus’s role as the maker of Pandora is one of the myth’s clearest named details.