Hermes (Mercury)

The Greek Hermes, corresponding to the Roman Mercury, was born to Zeus and Maia, one of the Pleiades, in a cave on Mount Cyllene. Within a few hours of his birth the god started to reveal some of the characteristics that were to make him famous: ingenuity, cunning, adulation, and a propensity for larceny. "Born early in the morning," we are told by Homer, "he was already playing the lyre by midday and stealing the cattle of Apollo by evening." Hermes plays a leading role only in the myths of his childhood. Later he almost always appears in legends as a secondary figure, mainly as the messenger or intermediary of the gods. In fact, Zeus wanted him as his herald and gave him the task of maintaining contact between Olympus and the world of Hades, to which Hermes guided the shades of the dead.

In the guise of an emissary he accompanied King Priam of Troy to Achilles' tent to ask for the body of Hector for burial; saved Ulysses from the enchantments of Circe and ordered Calypso to set the hero free; was entrusted by Zeus with the task of liberating Io, who had been turned into a cow and placed under the surveillance of Argus; led Hera, Aphrodite, and Athena to Paris for the famous judgment; and took Pandora to earth for the damnation of men.

As always, there are conflicting versions of the stories of Hermes' loves. According to one tradition he fathered Eros to Aphrodite, or alternatively Hermaphroditus, whose name is a fusion of those of both parents. Another of Hermes' children was Pan, born to the daughter of King Dryops who abandoned him immediately after she gave birth, frightened by the sight of his hairy body. The envious Aglauros paid the consequences of his love for Herse.

Hermes proclaimed himself king of thieves and was also the god of commerce and the protector of gamblers. He guided travelers on the road and his images (herms) were set up at crossroads and city gates. He watched over herdsmen because he knew about rustling. He was also the tutelary deity of all the gymnastic games in Greece and was considered the originator of sacrifices to the gods.

Last Edited On: 08/13/99

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