In Hesiod’s Works and Days, Hermes gives Pandora a deceitful mind and crafty words.
The detail appears in Hesiod’s description of Pandora’s creation, where Zeus commands the gods to prepare a woman as part of his punishment of humanity. Different deities contribute different qualities, making Pandora a composite divine creation rather than the work of one god alone.
Hermes is especially associated with communication, cunning, trade, and boundary crossing. In this episode, his contribution is not simply eloquence: he places in Pandora a mind described through deception and gives her speech suited to persuasive, misleading words.
This role is distinct from the gifts attributed to other gods in the same account. The myth therefore presents Pandora’s danger as a combination of appearance, skill, speech, and character—not merely the physical container she later opens.