In the Greek myth of Pandora, Zeus commands Hermes to give her a shameless mind and deceitful nature.
This detail appears in Hesiod’s Works and Days, where Zeus responds to Prometheus’s theft of fire by arranging a punishment for humanity. Hephaestus makes Pandora, while other gods contribute gifts; Hermes then gives her a deceptive character and speech as part of Zeus’s plan.
The episode is often simplified in modern retellings, which may say that every god gave Pandora a separate magical power. Hesiod’s presentation is more specific: different divine figures perform particular actions, and Zeus directs the overall creation of Pandora as a punishment.
This command also helps explain why Pandora’s story is not merely about curiosity. In Hesiod, her arrival is tied to the consequences of Prometheus’s actions and to Zeus’s deliberate decision to bring a troubling gift to humankind. The later phrase “Pandora’s box” compresses this larger sequence into a single familiar image.