In the Greek myth of Pandora, Hephaestus is said to have fashioned her from clay.
In Hesiod’s account, Zeus commands Hephaestus, the divine smith, to create Pandora as part of a punishment directed at humanity after Prometheus stole fire. Hephaestus shapes her body from earth, giving the story a striking connection with later creation traditions.
Pandora is then presented as a gift assembled by several gods. Athena teaches her crafts, Aphrodite gives her beauty, and Hermes gives her a deceptive mind and speech. These details show that Pandora’s identity is not simply that of a mortal woman made by one god; she is a divinely constructed figure whose qualities come from many Olympians.
Modern retellings often show Pandora opening a wooden box, but Hesiod described a large storage jar. The later “box” image comes from translation history, while Hephaestus’s role belongs to the ancient myth itself.