In Hesiod’s Greek mythology, Pandora was fashioned from clay.
Works and Days presents Zeus ordering Hephaestus to shape Pandora from earth or clay. The divine smith then gives form to the first woman before the other gods add their gifts. This detail connects Pandora with a broader ancient Mediterranean pattern in which a human being is shaped from earth by a divine maker.
The clay detail is sometimes confused with the materials of Hephaestus’s other creations or with later artistic portrayals of Pandora. Greek vase paintings and modern illustrations may show divine tools, jewelry, or elaborate clothing, but those visual details do not replace the myth’s basic statement that she was fashioned from earth.
Hesiod’s account is also distinct from later retellings that treat Pandora as an ordinary mortal woman. In the ancient story, her construction is deliberate and supernatural, forming part of Zeus’s response to Prometheus’s theft of fire and his support for humanity.