Hermes

Hermes in Ancient Greek pottery, picture by Jastrow

### Personify

Messengers, boundaries, roads, travelers, thieves, athletes, shepherds, commerce, speed, cunning, wit, sleep, psychopomp

### Symbol

Petasos, Talaria, caduceus, tortoise, lyre, rooster

## Family & Relationships

### Siblings

Aphrodite, Apollo, Ares, Artemis, Athena, Dionysus, Eileithyia, Enyo, Eris, Hebe, Hephaestus, Heracles

### Counterparts

Mercury, Turms, Thoth, Odin, Nabu, Veles

**Hermes** is the Greek god of boundaries, roads and travelers, thieves, athletes, shepherds, commerce, speed, cunning, wit and sleep, who also served as a the messenger of the gods and a psychopomp, who brought the souls of the dead into the underworld.

## Overview

### Origin of Hermes

Hermes was the son of Zeus, the king of the gods, and Maia, one of the Pleiades. He was born raised by his mother at Mount Kyllini in Arcadia. At the age of just one day, Hermes had already invented the lyre (which he had created out of the entrails and shell of a tortoise) as well as stolen the sacred cattle of his brother Apollo, the god of light and prophecy.

Apollo outraged at this act of theft, met with his little brother, but forgave him, if Hermes would give him the newly-invented lyre as compensation. Hermes had also invented the panpipe while stealing the cattle, and and Apollo wanted it too, if he gave his brother a golden staff and prophetic abilities, to which he agreed.

### Function in the pantheon

Hermes would arrive on Mt. Olympus be chosen by his father, Zeus, as the divine messenger of the gods, and he became an important member of the pantheon. It was he who negotiated with Hades to release Persephone back to her mother Demeter, following which he also became one of the psychopomps of Greek mythology, who guided the souls of the dead into the underworld.

### Myths

He, alongside Athena, goddess of wisdom, craft and war, also often helped the many heroes of Greek mythology, such as Heracles, Perseus and Odysseus, with the two former being his half-brother and the latter being his great-grandson.

He was also known for slaying the hundred-eyed Argus, a servant of Hera, queen of the gods, who had been tasked by her to guard over the Io, one Zeus' mortal victims who had been transfigured into a cow. Zeus, regretful over the state of Io, asked Hermes to intervene. Hermes agreed to this, and played on his pipe, causing the guard to fall asleep, after which the messenger-god killed him with a dagger.

### Family

He is children Hermaphroditus, the god hermaphroditism, effeminacy, and androgyny, whose mother was Aphrodite, goddess of love and beauty, and Pan, the pastoral god of nature. His is usually depicted as a either a young and athletic man or as a middle-aged bearded one, usually carrying his winged helmet, the petasos, and his staff, the caduceus.

### Cult images on the road

As the god of travel, cult-images (called herms) of him were often placed alongside roads, usually depicting his head and phallus.

## References

1. ↑ Castrén, Paavo and Leena Pietilä-Castrén. *Antiikin käsikirja*
2. ↑ Castrén, Paavo. *Antiikin myytit*
3. ↑ Castrén, Paavo and Leena Pietilä-Castrén. *Antiikin käsikirja*
4. ↑ Castrén, Paavo. *Antiikin myytit*
5. ↑ Castrén, Paavo and Leena Pietilä-Castrén. *Antiikin käsikirja*
6. ↑ Castrén, Paavo. *Antiikin myytit*
7. ↑ Castrén, Paavo and Leena Pietilä-Castrén. *Antiikin käsikirja*
8. ↑ Castrén, Paavo. *Antiikin myytit*
9. ↑ Castrén, Paavo and Leena Pietilä-Castrén. *Antiikin käsikirja*