In Hesiod’s Pandora myth, Hermes gave Pandora deceptive speech and a deceitful character.
Works and Days describes the gifts or qualities assigned to Pandora by different gods. Hermes, the divine messenger, is associated with giving her a mind suited to deception and speech capable of misleading. This contribution fits Hermes’ broader mythological associations with language, cleverness, trade, travel, and trickery.
The detail is easy to miss because modern retellings often mention only Pandora’s beauty and curiosity. Hesiod’s version instead presents Pandora as a carefully constructed instrument of Zeus’s punishment. Several gods contribute to her appearance and abilities, so no single god is responsible for every part of her characterization.
Hermes is not the god who fashions Pandora’s body; that role belongs to Hephaestus. Nor is he the god who sends her to Epimetheus; Zeus directs the overall plan. Keeping those roles separate avoids one of the common mix-ups in summaries of the myth.