Hephaestus is the Greek god said to have shaped Pandora from clay in Hesiod’s account.
Hephaestus is the Olympian god associated with fire, metalworking, craftsmanship, and the forge. In Works and Days, Zeus orders him to make Pandora from earth. Other gods then contribute qualities or gifts, creating a figure whose name is traditionally understood as “all-gifted.”
This episode resembles other Greek myths in which a divine craftsman forms a human-like figure, but Pandora’s creation has a specific narrative purpose. Zeus sends her as part of his response to Prometheus’s theft of fire and the resulting benefits given to humanity. She is made attractive and persuasive before being sent to Epimetheus.
Popular retellings sometimes credit Zeus directly with creating Pandora, because he commands the plan and controls its consequences. Hesiod’s account is more specific: Hephaestus performs the shaping, while the other gods add their gifts. Pandora is therefore a collaborative divine creation under Zeus’s authority.