In the myth of Pandora, Hermes taught her persuasive and deceptive speech.
Hesiod assigns Hermes the task of giving Pandora a shameless mind and a deceptive nature, including the power of persuasive speech. This contribution fits Hermes’s wider mythological associations with language, cunning, negotiation, travel, and boundary crossing.
Pandora’s creation is presented as a collective divine operation. Hephaestus shapes her from earth, Athena provides instruction or adornment, Aphrodite gives beauty, and other gods add qualities. The precise wording differs across translations because Greek terms can carry several related meanings.
A common mix-up is to attribute every part of Pandora’s personality to a single god. Hesiod instead distributes the gifts among the gods. Hermes is specifically linked with her speech and deceptive character, while Zeus is the authority who orders the creation and sends her to Epimetheus.