In Hesiod’s Pandora myth, Hephaestus is ordered by Zeus to fashion Pandora from earth. Hephaestus, the divine smith and craftsman, shapes the woman as part of Zeus’s plan after Prometheus gives fire to humanity.
The account appears in Hesiod’s Works and Days, where Zeus tells Hephaestus to create a female figure with the appearance of a young woman. Other gods then contribute characteristics, clothing, skills, or persuasive qualities. This division of roles explains why Pandora is both a crafted creation and a recipient of many divine gifts.
A common mix-up is to identify Athena as Pandora’s creator because Athena helps equip her in several versions of the story. Athena is associated with clothing and handicrafts, while Hephaestus performs the actual fashioning. Later artistic traditions often show Pandora emerging from the earth or being presented to the gods, but the literary assignment belongs to Hephaestus.