In the Greek myth of Pandora, which god was said to mold her from clay?

In the Greek myth of Pandora, Hephaestus was said to mold her from clay. Hephaestus is the Olympian god associated with fire, metalworking, craftsmanship, and invention, making him the natural divine artisan for the creation scene.

In Hesiod’s account, Zeus orders the creation of a beautiful woman as part of his punishment of humanity after Prometheus gives humans fire. Hephaestus shapes the woman from earth, and other gods contribute qualities or gifts. This collaborative construction explains why Pandora is presented as a divinely made figure rather than as an ordinary human birth.

The myth differs in detail between ancient sources and later retellings. Some accounts emphasize Hephaestus making her, while others focus more on the gifts supplied by the gods. The story also does not originally describe a literal box: the ancient container is a pithos, a large storage jar.