In Hesiod’s Theogony, Zeus orders Hephaestus to create Pandora.
The episode belongs to Hesiod’s account of the conflict between Zeus and Prometheus. Prometheus deceives Zeus at Mecone and later steals fire for humans, so Zeus devises a punishment that will affect humanity rather than Prometheus alone. He instructs Hephaestus, the divine craftsman, to fashion Pandora from earth.
The Theogony gives a shorter version of the story than Works and Days. It emphasizes Pandora’s role as part of Zeus’s retaliation and links her arrival with the troubles that enter human life. Works and Days adds more detail about her gifts, her jar, and the release of evils.
A common mix-up is assigning Pandora’s creation to Prometheus. Prometheus is associated with creating or helping humans in several later traditions, but Hesiod specifically makes Zeus the initiator of Pandora’s creation.