In Hesiod’s Pandora story, Hermes gave Pandora persuasive speech and a deceitful character. Zeus assigned Hermes this part of Pandora’s preparation after Hephaestus formed her from earth.
Hermes was the Olympian messenger and a god associated with travel, trade, communication, cleverness, and trickery. Those associations make him an appropriate figure to supply speech and deceptive behavior in the myth. His contribution is not the same as Athena’s, which concerns crafts and practical skills.
The account presents Pandora as a composite creation. Hephaestus provides the physical form, while several gods add qualities that make her attractive, capable, and dangerous. Hermes’s gifts help explain why Pandora can influence others and why the story connects her arrival with deception.
Modern retellings often simplify the myth by saying that every god gave Pandora a gift, but Hesiod gives specific roles to particular deities. Hermes is the one tied to speech and deceit in the relevant passage.