Hermes (deity)
Hermes is a prominent deity in Greco-Roman mythology, known as Mercury in Roman traditions. He is one of the twelve Olympian gods of Greek mythology and is the son of Zeus and Maia, one of the Pleiades. Hermes is recognized primarily as the messenger of the gods, and he also represents commerce, thieves, travelers, and athletic competition. Notably cunning, he is often depicted as a trickster, using his cleverness to benefit humans or for his own amusement. His myths include fascinating tales such as his rapid birth and his theft of cattle from his half-brother Apollo, which led to the invention of the lyre.
In addition to his role as a messenger, Hermes is known for guiding souls to the underworld, a task he shares with only a few other immortals. He is associated with various cults and temples, particularly in rural Greece, and his festivals incorporated athletic events and sacrifices. Hermes’s image has persisted in modern culture, notably represented in corporate logos and as a symbol in medicine through the caduceus. Overall, Hermes embodies a rich blend of attributes that reflect both the divine and the human experience.
Subject Terms
Hermes (deity)
Symbols: Herald’s wand (kerykeion or caduceus, a winged staff with two snakes twined around it); winged boots; brimmed traveling hat, sometimes with wings; chlamys (cloak); ram
Culture: Greco-Roman
Mother: Maia
Father: Zeus
Siblings: Aphrodite; Apollo; Ares; Artemis; Dionysus; Eileithyria; Eris; Hebe; Hephaestus; Herakles; Persephone
Children: Abderos; Aithalides; Angelia; Arabos; Autolykos; Bounos; Ekhion; Eleusis (female); Eleusis (male); Euandros; Eudoros; Eurestos; Eurytos; Hermaphroditis; Kaikos; Kephalos; Keryx; Kydon; Libys; Myrtilos; Norax; the Oreiades (the Dryades); Orion; Palaistra; Pan; the Panes; Pharis; Phaunos; Polybos; Priapos
Hermes is one of the major gods of Greco-Roman mythology (in Roman myths he is named Mercury), one of the twelve Olympian gods of Greek mythology. The child of Zeus and one of the seven Pleiades, Maia, Hermes is the second-youngest of the major gods (he is a little bit older than Dionysus).
His most important role is as the herald or messenger of the Olympian gods, but he is also the primary god of commerce and thieves. Secondarily, he is the god of travel on land, shepherds, oration, literature, athletic competition, and the weights and measures of commerce.
Known for his exceptional cunning and cleverness, Hermes was a notorious trickster. The victims of his jokes were other immortals, however, and he often used his shrewdness for the benefit of human beings. At other times, his tricks were for his own amusement.
As the herald of the gods, one of Hermes’s most important roles was to conduct the souls of the dead to Hades. Only three immortals could come and go from the underworld without harm: Hades, the lord of the underworld, his wife Persephone, and Hermes.
In Mythology
Hermes either appears in or is the focus of many well-known myths. One of the most famous involves the god’s birth. Part of what makes Hermes unique is the fact that the god was conceived and delivered in just one day.
Zeus had a secret affair with Maia, impregnating her in the dead of night so that Hera—the queen of the gods—would not know of the assignation. At dawn the next morning, Hermes was miraculously born in a cave on Mount Cyllene, which is in Arcadia. Maia swaddled the baby and then rested. As she slept, Hermes wriggled out of his wrappings and pranced away. The baby found his way to Thessaly where Apollo, the baby’s half-brother and god of the sun, kept his herds of cattle.
Hermes stole some of Apollo’s cattle and led them back to Greece. He hid the animals in a small cave and covered their tracks. As he was leading the cattle to the cave, he found a tortoise shell (in some versions of the myth, he captured and killed the tortoise) and used entrails from one of Apollo’s cattle to make strings that he stretched across the shell. Thus Hermes invented the lyre. He then returned to the cave of his birth and wrapped the swaddling clothes around himself.
Apollo was enraged to discover some of his sacred cattle missing, and he was certain that the baby Hermes was responsible. He appealed to Maia, but she insisted that a baby in swaddling could not have stolen any cattle. Zeus tried to intervene, explaining that he had seen Hermes stealing the cattle.
While the argument went on, Hermes slipped out of the swaddling again and started playing his tortoise-shell lyre. Apollo was smitten by the sound and offered to let Hermes keep the cattle in exchange for the musical instrument. Apollo soon became so proficient with the instrument that the lyre is one of his symbols.
In one version of the myth, Hermes also invented the panpipes (syrinx) and the flute. Apollo traded with his half-brother for the flute as well, giving Hermes the caduceus for the flute. (In another version, Zeus gave Hermes the caduceus.)
Hermes played an important role in many other myths as well. One is the story of Orpheus and Eurydice. Hermes led Eurydice back to the underworld after Hades granted her one day back on earth with her beloved husband, Orpheus. Hermes also rescued Io, a lover of Zeus, from the hundred-eyed giant Argus. Argus guarded Io at Hera’s request, but Hermes enraptured the giant with his flute. He then chopped off Argus’s head and rescued Io. To reward Argus for his loyalty, Hera put his hundred eyes in the peacock’s tail.
Mortals were often the beneficiaries of Hermes’s craftiness. Odysseus was rescued by the god twice, once from the nymph Calypso and once from the witch Circe. Hermes also joined with Athena to help Perseus kill Medusa.
Along with many other offspring, Hermes fathered Pan, the god of nature. A lithe athlete himself, Hermes invented boxing and foot races for the amusement of people.
Origins & Cults
Some researchers believe that a cult of Hermes developed in rural areas of ancient Greece. One of the oldest temples dedicated to Hermes is located on Mount Cyllene where the god was born, according to myth.
Because Mount Cyllene is in southern Greece, it is possible that the cult moved to Athens. From there it became very widespread. There are temples dedicated to and statues of Hermes throughout the region. Often, Hermes shared sacred space with Aphrodite, with whom he fathered Hermaphroditus. His statue often stood in gymnasiums and other athletic locations. The festival dedicated to the god, the Hermaea, included athletic events along with sacrifices and feasting.
Standing stones that mark crossroads, boundaries, and distances were called Hermai after the god. They were often decorated with Hermes’s face and were fertility symbols for farms and herds as well as boundary stones.
In Popular Culture
As the speedy messenger of the gods, Hermes’s image has naturally found its way into corporate emblems and advertising. One of the best-known examples is the logo of Florists’ Transworld Delivery (FTD), which features a likeness of Hermes and his winged sandals as the main image in its logo. Another very well-known use of one of Hermes’s emblems is his caduceus, which has become a symbol of medical societies, physicians, and pharmacies or pharmaceutical products all over the world.
Bibliography
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Bullfinch, Thomas. Bullfinch’s Greek and Roman Mythology: The Age of Fable. Minneola: Dover, 2000. Print.
Eddy, Steve. Understand Greek Mythology. Chicago: McGraw, 2012. Print.
Jackson, Roy. Mythology—Greek Gods: Myths, Legends, and Ancient History. Seattle: CreateSpace, 2015. Print.
Lee, Joe. Greek Mythology for Beginners. Danbury: For Beginners, 2013. Print.
Roman, Luke. Encyclopedia of Greek and Roman Mythology. New York: Facts on File, 2010. Print.
Woodard, Roger. The Cambridge Companion to Greek Mythology. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2007. Print.