In the Pandora myth, which god was said to mold Pandora from earth?

In the Pandora myth, Hephaestus was said to mold Pandora from earth.

Hesiod describes Zeus ordering Hephaestus, the divine smith and craftsman, to shape a woman from earth. The act links Pandora’s creation to Hephaestus’s traditional role as maker of divine objects, weapons, and beings. After he formed her, other gods supplied qualities or gifts that completed the deception.

The myth is not a single, fully consistent creation narrative across all ancient sources. Hesiod’s Works and Days gives the most detailed sequence, while later writers and artists add or alter details. Some retellings emphasize Athena’s instruction, Aphrodite’s beauty, or Hermes’ persuasive speech, but these contributions do not replace Hephaestus’s role as the maker of her physical form in Hesiod’s account.

A common mix-up identifies Prometheus as Pandora’s creator because he is associated with humans and fire. In the story, however, Prometheus’s theft of fire is part of the background to Zeus’s punishment; Hephaestus performs the molding.