In Hesiod’s Works and Days, Athena dressed Pandora in clothing. Zeus commissioned the creation of Pandora after Prometheus gave fire to humanity, and several gods contributed to her appearance and abilities.
Hephaestus shaped Pandora, while Athena clothed her and taught her crafts. Aphrodite gave her beauty and desire, and Hermes gave her a deceptive mind and voice. These contributions make Pandora a composite creation assembled by the Olympian gods rather than a figure made by one deity alone.
Athena’s role is especially notable because she is usually associated with wisdom, warfare, crafts, and civic protection. Clothing Pandora and teaching her handiwork connect the goddess with the practical arts traditionally linked to her worship. Hesiod’s presentation also emphasizes Pandora’s visual attractiveness as part of Zeus’s plan.
Later retellings often simplify the myth into a single moment in which Pandora receives a box. The earliest literary account instead describes a sequence of divine gifts before she is sent to Epimetheus.