In Hesiod's Works and Days, clay formed Pandora's body.
Hesiod says that Hephaestus shaped Pandora from earth, while the gods supplied her with different gifts and abilities. The Greek wording is commonly translated as earth or clay, making clay the standard short answer in modern retellings. This detail presents Pandora as a crafted human figure rather than a naturally born character.
The creation scene belongs to Hesiod's account of the punishment imposed on humanity after Prometheus gave people fire. Hephaestus, the divine smith, makes the form, and other gods contribute attributes such as speech, clothing, and social skill. Her name is often interpreted as “all-gifted” or “all-giving,” reflecting this sequence of divine contributions.
Readers sometimes confuse this detail with the later idea that Pandora opened a box. Hesiod's earliest surviving version refers to a jar, not a box, and the vessel is separate from Pandora's clay-made body. The clay motif also connects the story with wider ancient traditions about humans fashioned from earth.