Hermes gave Pandora a deceptive mind and a lying tongue in Hesiod’s account.
Hermes was the Greek god of communication, travel, trade, boundaries, and cunning. In Works and Days, Zeus instructs Hermes to give Pandora a shameless mind and a deceitful nature. This contribution helps explain why Pandora is presented as an instrument of Zeus’s punishment rather than merely an innocent recipient of a gift.
Hermes often occupies morally flexible roles in Greek mythology. He can guide souls, protect travelers, deliver divine messages, and use trickery. His association with clever speech and deception makes him an appropriate figure for the qualities Hesiod assigns to Pandora.
The wording differs across translations, so readers may encounter “deceitful character,” “lying speech,” or similar phrases. These variations point to the same mythic contribution. Hermes is not the god who physically makes Pandora—that task belongs to Hephaestus—and he is not the Titan who receives her; that is Epimetheus.