In the Greek myth of Pandora, Pandora is made from clay or earth. Hesiod describes Hephaestus shaping her form from earth at Zeus’s command, before the other gods add their gifts and attributes.
The material connects Pandora with a wider pattern in Greek mythology and ancient Mediterranean creation stories, in which living beings are formed from earth and then animated or equipped by divine power. Hephaestus, the divine smith and craftsman, is the god assigned to construct her body.
The myth is sometimes retold as saying that Pandora was made from “clay,” while other translations use “earth.” These terms reflect different translations of the ancient Greek wording and refer to the same basic material rather than two separate substances.
Pandora’s clay origin is separate from the container she later opens. Hesiod describes that container as a large storage jar; the English expression “Pandora’s box” became standard much later through translation history.