Hermes

**Hermes** was the Greek god of thievery, travel, and herds.

## Depiction

Hermes was usually depicted as either a young, athletic man or an older man with a boot. He was always depicted with a herald's wand and winged shoes.

## Abode

Hermes was the god of herds and flocks, shepherds, travel and roads, hospitality, trade and commerce, thievery and cunning, heralds, diplomacy, writing and language, athleticism and gymnasiums, and astronomy and astrology. He was also the messenger of the gods as well as the guide of souls to the Underworld. Although lesser known, Hermes was also the god of social interactions, prudence, gain, and riches.

As the messenger of Zeus, Hermes was thought to bring dreams to people since Zeus was said to be the sender of dreams. As such, Hermes was thought to be able to cause others to fall asleep or cause them to not be able to sleep.

Hermes' presidence over language and speech comes from him being the messenger of the gods. He also was connected with eloquence since he obviously did quite a bit of talking. As such, tongues of animals were sacrificed to Hermes specifically.

Hermes was also said to be a great inventor, having invented the lyre and the syrinx, the alphabet, numbers, astronomy, music, the fighting art, gymnastics, the cultivation of olive trees, as well as measures and weights. Whenever he favored a mortal person, they were gifted with skills of mathematics, language, music, gymnastics, and combat.

### Attributes

The most notable attribute of Hermes was the herald's wand or sometimes a short sword. He was usually seen wearing winged shoes and a winged hat as well. Animals sacred to Hermes were the ram and the hare. However, as the god of flocks and herds, he was also associated with cattle, hawks, sheep, tortoises, and goats. His sacred plants were the crocus flower and the strawberry plant. The number four was also sacred to Hermes.

## Mythology

### Birth

Shortly after his birth, Hermes escaped from the cave that his mother lived in and traveled to where Apollo kept his oxen. Hermes stole some of these oxen and forced them to walk backwards and tied straw to their tails so that they would wipe away their own tracks. He killed two of the cattle and hid the rest in a cave. With the guts of the cattle and the shell of a tortoise, he created the lyre.

After Apollo discovered what Hermes had done with his prophetic ability, he went to Maia's cave and confronted them. Maia did not believe Apollo so he went to Zeus. Zeus ordered Hermes to give Apollo back his cattle. Since some of Apollo's cattle were killed, he demanded the lyre as payment.

### Argus Panoptes

After Hera discovered that Zeus had had an affair with Io, she raced to where the couple was and would have caught them in the act if Zeus had not quickly transformed Io into a beautiful white cow. Hera knew this cow was actually Io but pretended not to know and demanded this heifer as a gift. Zeus reluctantly complied and Hera took the cow to her sacred grove, tied her to a tree, and ordered Argus Panoptes, a giant with eyes all over his body, to guard her. Zeus send Hermes to rescue Io. Hermes went to the grove of Hera and began telling Argus Panoptes a story that was incredibly boring and long. Argus Panoptes eventually fell asleep and, when he did, Hermes touched each one of his eyes so that they would never open again, effectively killing him, and released Io.

### Messenger of Zeus

Hermes played a minor part in many myths as the messenger of Zeus. He led Priam to retrieve the body of Hector, tied Ixion to his wheel for punishment, led Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite to Paris for their judgment, tied Prometheus to his mountain, and saved Dionysus during his mortal death.

## Relationships

**With Sose:** Agreus
**With Aphrodite:** Hermaphroditus
**With Iphthime:** The Hermeides
**With Eupolemeia:** Aethalides
**With Thronia:** Arabus
**With Chione:** Autolycus
**With Alcidameia:** Bunus
**With Antianeira:** Echion, Eurytus
**With Daeira:** Eleusis
**With Carmentis:** Evander
**With Polymele:** Eudorus
**With Ocyrrhoe:** Caecus
**With Herse:** Cephalus
**With Agraulos:** Ceryx
**With Acalle:** Cydon
**With Libya:** Libys
**With Theoboula:** Myrtilus
**With Erytheia:** Norax
**With Phylodameia:** Pharis
**With Chthonophyle:** Polybus
**with Rhene:** Saon
**With Sicilian nymph:** Daphnis
**Without a consort:** Angelia, Palaestra, Abderus, Phaunus

## Other Names

* Argeiphontes
* Mercury (in Roman mythology)
* Mercurius (in Roman mythology)

## Sources

* Atsma, Aaron J. "Hermes." *Theoi Greek Mythology*. Theoi Project, n.d. Web. 17 May 2017.