In the Pandora myth, which deity created Pandora at Zeus’s command?

In the Pandora myth, Hephaestus created Pandora at Zeus’s command.

Hesiod describes Zeus ordering Hephaestus, the divine smith and craftsman, to form Pandora from earth. The other gods then contribute gifts, including skills, charm, clothing, and speech. This staged creation explains why her name is connected with receiving gifts from many deities.

The story belongs to Hesiod’s account of the consequences of Prometheus’s theft of fire. Zeus’s plan is not simply to make a human woman but to create a new source of difficulty for humanity. Hephaestus’s role reflects his established mythological identity as the god associated with metalworking, craftsmanship, and artificial creation.

Later paintings and retellings often emphasize Pandora’s beauty or curiosity, but the earliest literary account gives substantial attention to the gods’ coordinated making of her. The identity of her creator is therefore distinct from the identity of the god who commands the act: Zeus gives the order, while Hephaestus performs the shaping.