In Hesiod’s myth, which god gives Pandora beauty and desire?

In Hesiod’s myth, Aphrodite gives Pandora beauty and desire.

Aphrodite is the Greek goddess associated with love, sexual attraction, and beauty. Her contribution is one part of the coordinated divine construction of Pandora. Hesiod presents Pandora as receiving qualities from several gods before she is sent to Epimetheus, so no single deity accounts for all her attributes.

The myth’s wording reflects ancient Greek ideas about attraction and persuasion. Pandora’s beauty helps explain why she is accepted despite Prometheus’s warning that Zeus’s gifts may be dangerous. In this structure, appearance is not merely decorative; it is part of the divine strategy that brings Pandora into the human world.

Aphrodite’s role is sometimes assigned incorrectly to Athena, whose contribution concerns clothing and textile work. Hephaestus, meanwhile, forms Pandora’s body from earth. Keeping these roles separate helps distinguish the individual gifts in Hesiod’s account from later summaries that compress the story.