Hermes

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Hermes

Hermes (Greek

Ancient Greek

Ancient Greek is the historical stage in the development of the Greek language spanning across the Archaic Greece , Classical Greece , and Hellenistic civilization periods of ancient Greece and the classical antiquity....
, , ) is the messenger of the gods in Greek mythology

Greek mythology

Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the Ancient Greece concerning their List of Greek mythological figures#Immortals and Greek hero cult, Cosmology#Metaphysical cosmology, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices....
. An Olympian god

Twelve Olympians

The Twelve Olympians or younger gods, also known as the Dodekatheon , in Greek mythology, were the principal Greek Godss of the Greek pantheon , residing atop Mount Olympus, having supplanted the Titan or older gods in the greek mythogical narrative....
, he is also the patron of boundaries and of the travelers who cross them, of shepherd

Shepherd

A shepherd is a person who tends to, feeds or guards sheep, especially in flocks. The word may also refer to one who provides religious guidance, as a pastor....
s and cowherds, of thieves and road travelers, of orators and wit, of literature and poets, of athletics, of weights and measures, of invention, of general commerce, and of the cunning of thieves and liars. His symbols include the tortoise, the rooster, the winged sandals, and the caduceus

Caduceus

The caduceus is typically depicted as a short herald's Staff entwined by two Serpent in the form of a double helix, and sometimes is surmounted by wings....
.

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Etymology

The name Hermes has been thought, ever since Karl Otfried Müller

Karl Otfried Müller

Karl Otfried M?ller , was a Germany scholar and Philodorian, or admirer of ancient Sparta, who introduced the modern study of Greek mythology but whose life was cut tragically short....
's demonstration, to be derived from the Greek word herma
Herma

A Herma, herm or herme is a sculpture with a head, and perhaps a torso, above a plain, usually squared lower section, on which male genitals may also be carved at the appropriate height....
(), which denotes a square or rectangular pillar with the head of Hermes (usually with a beard) adorning the top of the pillar, and ithyphallic male genitals below; however, due to the god's attestation in the Mycenaean pantheon, as Hermes Araoia ("Ram Hermes") in Linear B

Linear B

Linear B is a script that was used for writing Mycenaean language, an early form of Greek language. It predated the Greek alphabet by several centuries and seems to have died out with the fall of Mycenaean Greece civilization....
inscriptions at Pylos

Pylos

This article is about the Greek geographical feature and town. For the mythological figure see Pylus . For board game see Pylos .Pylos, or P?los , is a large bay and a town on the west coast of the Peloponnese, in the district of Messenia in southern Greece....
and Mycenaean Knossos

Knossos

Knossos , also known as the Knossos Palace is the largest Bronze Age archaeological site on Crete and probably the ceremonial and political center of the Minoan civilization and culture....
(Ventris and Chadwick), the connection is more likely to have moved the opposite way, from deity to pillar representations. From the subsequent association of these cairns — which were used in Athens

Athens

Athens , the Capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery; as one of the List of cities by time of continuous habitation, its recorded history spans around 3,400 years....
to ward off evil and also as road and boundary marker

Boundary marker

A boundary marker, boundary stone or border stone is a robust physical marker that identifies the start of a land Border or the change in a boundary, especially a change in a direction of a boundary....
s all over Greece — Hermes acquired patronage over land travel.

Epithets of Hermes

Argeiphontes

Hermes' epithet

Epithet

An epithet is a descriptive word or phrase accompanying or occurring in place of the name of a person or thing, which has become a fixed formula....
Argeiphontes (Latin Argicida), or Argus-slayer, recalls his slaying of the hundred eyed giant Argus Panoptes

Argus Panoptes

In Greek mythology, Argus Panoptes or Argos, guardian of the heifer-nymph Io and son of Arestor, was a primordial giant whose epithet "Panoptes", "all-seeing", led to his being described with multiple, often a hundred, eyes....
, who was watching over the heifer

Cattle

Cattle, colloquially referred to as cows, are domestication ungulates, a member of the subfamily Bovinae of the family Bovidae. They are raised as livestock for meat , dairy products , leather and as draft animals ....
-nymph Io

Io (mythology)

In Greek mythology, Io was a priestess of Hera in Argos who was seduced by Zeus, who changed her into a heifer to escape detection. Her mistress Hera set ever-watchful Argus Panoptes to guard her, but Hermes was sent to distract the guardian and slay him....
in the sanctuary of Queen Hera

Hera

In the Twelve Olympians of classical Greek Mythology, Hera or Here was the wife and older sister of Zeus. Her chief function was as goddess of women and marriage....
herself in Argos. Putting Argus to sleep, Hermes used a spell to permanently close all of Argus' eyes and then slew the giant. Argus' eyes were then put into the tail of the peacock, symbol of the goddess Hera.

Logios

His epithet of Logios is the representation of the god in the act of speaking, as orator, or as the god of eloquence. Indeed, together with Athena

Athena

In Greek mythology, Athena is the shrewd companion of Hero and the goddess of Hero endeavour. She is the virgin patron of Athens, which built the Parthenon to worship her....
, he was the standard divine representation of eloquence in classical Greece. The Homer

Homer

Homer is traditionally held to be the author of the ancient Greek language epic poems the Iliad and the Odyssey, as well as of the Homeric Hymns....
ic Hymn to Hermes
Homeric Hymns

The thirty-three anonymous Homeric Hymns celebrating individual gods are a collection of ancient Greek language hymns, "Homeric" in the sense that they employ the same epic meter? dactylic hexameter? as the Iliad and Odyssey, use many similar formulas and are couched in the same dialect....
(probably 6th century BCE) describes Hermes making a successful speech from the cradle to defend himself from the (true) charge of cattle theft. Somewhat later, Proclus

Proclus

Proclus Lycaeus , called "The Successor" or "Diadochos" , was a Greek philosophy Neoplatonist philosophy, one of the last major Classical philosophers ....
' commentary on Plato

Plato

Plato , was a Classical Greece Greeks philosopher, mathematician, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Platonic Academy in Ancient Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the western world....
's Republic
Republic (Plato)

The Republic is a Socratic dialogue by Plato, written in approximately 380 BC. It is one of the most influential works of philosophy and Political philosophy, and Plato's best known work....
describes Hermes as the god of persuasion. Yet later, Neoplatonists viewed Hermes Logios more mystically as origin of a "Hermaic chain" of light and radiance emanating from the divine intellect (nous
Nous

Nous is a philosophical term for mind or intellect. Outside of a philosophical context, it is used, in English, to denote "common sense," with a different pronunciation ....
). This epithet also produced a sculptural type

Hermes Logios type

The Hermes Logios type is a statue type amongst representations of the Greek god Hermes, showing him in the form of Hermes#Logios. It was first raised for the Athenian dead of the battle of Coronea ....
.

Other

Other epithets included:

Agoraeus, of the agora
Agora

The Agora was an open "place of assembly" in ancient Ancient Greece city-states. Early in Greek history , free-born male land-owners who were citizens would gather in the agora for military duty or to hear statements of the ruling king or council....
Acacesius, of Acacus
Acacus

Acacus can refer to:* Acacus , King of Arcadia, and the foster-father of the infant Hermes in Greek mythology* Acacus , a stick insect genus of the subfamily Necrosciinae...
Charidotes, giver of charm
Criophorus, ram-bearer
Cyllenius, born on Mount Cyllene

Diaktoros, the messenger
Dolios, the schemer
Enagonios, lord of contests
Enodios, on the road
Epimelius, keeper of flocks
Eriounios, luck bringer
Polygius
Psychopompos, conveyor of souls

Cult

General article: Cult (religion).

Though temples to Hermes existed throughout Greece

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkans. It has borders with Albania, Bulgaria and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to the north, and Turkey to the east....
, a major center of his cult was at Pheneos in Arcadia

Arcadia

Arcadia, Arkad?a , or Arcady is a region of Greece in the Peloponnesus. It takes its name from the mythological character Arcas....
, where festivals in his honor were called Hermoea.

As a crosser of boundaries, Hermes Psychopompos ("conductor of the soul") was a psychopomp
Psychopomp

Many religions include a particular spiritual being, angel, or deity whose responsibility is to escort newly-deceased souls to the afterlife. These creatures are called psychopomps, from the Greek language word ????p??p?? , literally meaning the "guide of souls"....
, meaning he brought newly-dead souls to the Underworld
Underworld

In the study of mythology and religion, the underworld is a generic term approximately equivalent to the lay term afterlife, referring to any place to which newly the dead souls go....
and Hades
Hades

Hades refers both to the ancient Greek underworld, the abode of Hades, and to the god of the underworld. Hades in Homer referred just to the god; the genitive case , Haidou, was an elision to denote locality: "[the house/dominion] of Hades"....
. In the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, Hermes conducted Persephone
Persephone

In Greek mythology, Persephone was the embodiment of the Earth's fertility at the same time that she was the Queen of the Greek Underworld, the kore , and the parthenogenesis daughter of Demeter and, in later Classical myths, a daughter of Demeter and Zeus....
the Kore (young girl or virgin), safely back to Demeter
Demeter

File:Demeter in horse chariot w daughter kore 83d40m wikiC Tempio Y di Selinunte sec VIa.JPGDemeter , in Greek mythology, is the Goddess of cereal and fertility, the pure....
. He also brought dreams to living mortals.

Among the Hellene
Greeks

The Greeks , also known as Hellenes, are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighbouring regions, who can also be found in Greek diaspora communities around the world....
s, as the related word herma

Herma

A Herma, herm or herme is a sculpture with a head, and perhaps a torso, above a plain, usually squared lower section, on which male genitals may also be carved at the appropriate height....
("a boundary stone, crossing point") would suggest, Hermes embodied the spirit of crossing-over: He was seen to be manifest in any kind of interchange, transfer, transgressions, transcendence, transition, transit or traversal, all of which involve some form of crossing in some sense. This explains his connection with transitions in one’s fortune -- with the interchanges of goods, words and information involved in trade, interpretation, oration, writing -- with the way in which the wind may transfer objects from one place to another, and with the transition to the afterlife.

Many graffito dedications to Hermes have been found in the Athenian Agora
Ancient Agora of Athens

The Ancient Agora of Athens is the best-known example of agora, located in Ancient Athens, Greece....
, in keeping with his epithet of Agoraios and his role as patron of commerce.

Originally, Hermes was depicted as an older, bearded, phallic god, but in the late 4th century BCE, the traditional Hermes was reimagined as an athletic youth (illustration, top right). Statues of the new type of Hermes stood at stadiums and gymnasiums
Gymnasium (ancient Greece)

The gymnasium in ancient Greece functioned as a training facility for competitors in public games. It was also a place for socializing and engaging in intellectual pursuits....
throughout Greece.

Hermai/Herms
In Ancient Greece, Hermes was a phallic god of boundaries. His name, in the form herma

Herma

A Herma, herm or herme is a sculpture with a head, and perhaps a torso, above a plain, usually squared lower section, on which male genitals may also be carved at the appropriate height....
, was applied to a wayside marker pile of stones; each traveller added a stone to the pile. In the 6th century BCE, Hipparchos, the son of Pisistratus
Peisistratos (Athens)

Peisistratus was a tyrant of Athens from 546 to 527/8 BCE. His legacy lies primarily in his institution of the Panathenaic Festival and the consequent first attempt at producing a definitive version for Homeric epics....
, replaced the cairn
Cairn

A cairn is a manmade pile of stones, often in a conical form. They are usually found in Upland and lowland , on moorland, on mountaintops or near waterways....
s that marked the midway point between each village deme

Deme

In Ancient Greece, a deme was a subdivision of Attica, the region of Greece surrounding Classical Athens. Demes as simple subdivisions of land in the countryside seem to have existed in the 6th century BC and earlier, but did not acquire particular significance until the reforms of Cleisthenes in 508 BC....
at the central agora

Agora

The Agora was an open "place of assembly" in ancient Ancient Greece city-states. Early in Greek history , free-born male land-owners who were citizens would gather in the agora for military duty or to hear statements of the ruling king or council....
of Athens with a square or rectangular pillar of stone or bronze topped by a bust of Hermes with a beard
Beard

A beard is the hair that grows on a person's chin, cheeks, neck, and the area above the upper lip. Typically, only males going through puberty, or post-pubescent males are able to grow beards....
. An erect phallus
Phallus

Phallus can refer to a penis, or to an object shaped like a penis. The word comes from Vulgar Latin "phallus", from Ancient Greek "fa????" phallos, penis....
rose from the base. In the more primitive Mount Kyllini
Mount Kyllini

Mount Kyllini or Mount Cyllene , is a mountain on the Peloponnesus peninsula in Greece, famous for its association with the god Hermes. It rises to 2374 m above sea level, making it the second-highest on the peninsula....
or Cyllenian herms, the standing stone or wooden pillar was simply a carved phallus. In Athens, herms were placed outside houses for good luck. "That a monument of this kind could be transformed into an Olympian
Twelve Olympians

The Twelve Olympians or younger gods, also known as the Dodekatheon , in Greek mythology, were the principal Greek Godss of the Greek pantheon , residing atop Mount Olympus, having supplanted the Titan or older gods in the greek mythogical narrative....
god is astounding," Walter Burkert
Walter Burkert

Walter Burkert , a scholar of Greek mythology and Cult , is an emeritus professor of classics at the University of Zurich, Switzerland, and also has taught in the United Kingdom and the United States....
remarked (Burkert 1985).

In 415 BCE, when the Athenian fleet was about to set sail for Syracuse
Syracuse, Italy

Syracuse is a historic city in southern Italy, the Capital of the province of Syracuse. The city is noted for its rich Greek history, culture, amphitheatres, architecture and association to Archimedes, playing an important role in ancient times as one of the top powers of the Mediterranean world; it is over 2,700 years old....
during the Peloponnesian War
Peloponnesian War

The Peloponnesian War which lasted from 431-404BC was an Ancient Greece military conflict, fought by Athens and its Athenian empire against the Peloponnesian League, led by Sparta....
, all of the Athenian hermai were vandalized. The Athenians at the time believed it was the work of saboteurs, either from Syracuse or from the anti-war faction within Athens itself. Socrates
Socrates

Socrates was a Classical Greece Philosophy. Credited as one of the founders of Western philosophy, he is an enigmatic figure known only through the classical accounts of his students....
' pupil Alcibiades
Alcibiades

Alcibiades Cleiniou Scambonides , was a prominent History of Athens statesman, oratory, and general. He was the last famous member of his mother's aristocratic family, the Alcmaeonidae, which fell from prominence after the Peloponnesian War....
was suspected to have been involved, and Socrates indirectly paid for the impiety with his life.

From these origins, hermai moved into the repertory of Classical architecture.

Hermes' iconography
Hermes was usually portrayed wearing a broad-brimmed traveler's hat or a winged cap (petasus

Petasus

Petasus is a sun hat of Thessalian origin worn by the ancient Greeks, often in combination with the chlamys cape. As a winged hat it became the symbol of Hermes, the Greek mythology messenger god ....
), wearing winged sandals (talaria

Talaria

Talaria are winged Sandal s, a typical icon of the Greek Messenger God Hermes . They were said to be made of imperishable gold and flew the god as swift as any bird....
), and carrying his Near Eastern herald's staff -- either a caduceus

Caduceus

The caduceus is typically depicted as a short herald's Staff entwined by two Serpent in the form of a double helix, and sometimes is surmounted by wings....
entwined by serpents
Serpent (symbolism)

Serpent is a word of Latin origin that is commonly used in a specifically mythology or religion context, signifying a snake that is to be regarded not as a mundane natural phenomenon nor as an object of scientific zoology, but as the bearer of some symbolic value....
, or a kerykeion topped with a symbol similar to the astrological symbol of Taurus
Taurus (astrology)

Taurus is the second astrological sign in the Zodiac, originating from the Taurus . In western astrology, this sign is no longer aligned with the constellation as a result of the Precession ....
the bull. Hermes wore the garments of a traveler, worker, or shepherd. He was represented by purses or bags, roosters (illustration, left), and tortoises. When depicted as Hermes Logios
Hermes Logios (sculpture)

Hermes Logos is a statue of Hermes of the Hermes Logios type in the Ludovisi Collection of the Palazzo Altemps , Rome, Italy. It is a marble Roman copy after a Greek original of the 5th century BC, perhaps by Phidias....
, he was the divine symbol of eloquence, generally shown speaking with one arm raised for emphasis.

Birth
Hermes was born on Mount Cyllene
Mount Kyllini

Mount Kyllini or Mount Cyllene , is a mountain on the Peloponnesus peninsula in Greece, famous for its association with the god Hermes. It rises to 2374 m above sea level, making it the second-highest on the peninsula....
in Arcadia
Arcadia

Arcadia, Arkad?a , or Arcady is a region of Greece in the Peloponnesus. It takes its name from the mythological character Arcas....
to Maia
Maia (mythology)

Maia in Greek mythology, was the eldest of the Pleiades , the seven daughters of Atlas and Pleione . She and her sisters, born on Mount Cyllene in Arcadia, are sometimes called mountain goddesses, oreads, for Simonides of Ceos sang of "mountain Maia" "of the lively black eyes"....
. As the story is told in the Homeric Hymn
Homeric Hymns

The thirty-three anonymous Homeric Hymns celebrating individual gods are a collection of ancient Greek language hymns, "Homeric" in the sense that they employ the same epic meter? dactylic hexameter? as the Iliad and Odyssey, use many similar formulas and are couched in the same dialect....
, the Hymn to Hermes, Maia
Maia (mythology)

Maia in Greek mythology, was the eldest of the Pleiades , the seven daughters of Atlas and Pleione . She and her sisters, born on Mount Cyllene in Arcadia, are sometimes called mountain goddesses, oreads, for Simonides of Ceos sang of "mountain Maia" "of the lively black eyes"....
was a nymph
Nymph

In Greek mythology, a nymph is any member of a large class of mythological entities in human form. They were typically associated with a particular location or landform....
, but Greeks generally applied the name to a midwife or a wise and gentle old woman; so the nymph appears to have been an ancient one, or more probably a goddess. At any rate, she was one of the Pleiades
Pleiades (mythology)

The Pleiades , , companions of Artemis, were the seven daughters of the Titan Atlas and the sea-nymph Pleione born on Mount Kyllini. They are the sisters of Calypso , Hyas, the Hyades , and the Hesperides....
, daughters of Atlas, taking refuge in a cave of Mount Cyllene in Arcadia. They were discovered by the local king, Acacus
Acacus (Greek mythology)

Acacus , in Greek mythology, was a king of Acacesium in Arcadia, the son of Lycaon , and the foster-father of the infant Hermes. Maia gave birth to Hermes at dawn in a sacred cave on Mount Cyllene in Arcadia, and he was raised by Acacus....
, who raised Hermes as his foster son.

The infant Hermes was precocious. His first day he invented the lyre
Lyre

The lyre is a string instrument well known for its use in classical antiquity and later. The recitations of the Ancient Greece were accompanied by lyre playing....
. By nightfall, he had rustled the immortal cattle of Apollo. For the first sacrifice, the taboos surrounding the sacred kine of Apollo had to be transgressed, and the trickster god of boundaries was the one to do it.

Hermes drove the cattle back to Apofalfa and hid them, and covered their tracks. When Apollo accused Hermes, they went to the court of gods so the mighty Zeus would lay down the law. At the mountain Olympus the young son of the ruler upset the queen Hera by claiming Zeus as his father. When the crowd was calm, Hermes continued his explanations of borrowing the cattle to soothe his crawing for milk. His half brother Apollo accepted the lyre as a gift, and after the return of his cows, the brothers were no longer angry at each other. Hermes was hired to be the messenger of the gods. He was also clever enough to settle his argument with Hera by tricking her. Besides working at the Olympus, Hermes helped around the kingdom and taught his half brother how to play the self-invented instrument.

Hermes' offspring

Pan
The satyr
Satyr

In Greek mythology, satyrs are a troop of male companions of Pan and Dionysus ? "satyresses" were a late invention of poets ? that roamed the woods and mountains....
-like Greek god of nature, shepherds and flocks, Pan
Pan (mythology)

Pan , in Ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, is the companion of the nymphs, god of shepherds and flocks, of mountain wilds, hunting and rustic music....
was often said to be the son of Hermes through the nymph Dryope
Dryope

In Greek mythology, Dryope was the daughter of Dryops or of Eurytus . She was sometimes thought of as one of the Pleiades . There are two stories of her Shapeshifting into a black poplar....
. In the Homeric Hymn to Pan, Pan's mother ran away from the newborn god in fright from his goat-like appearance.

Hermaphroditus
Hermaphroditus
Hermaphroditus

In Greek mythology, Hermaphroditus or Hermaphroditos was the child of Aphrodite and Hermes. Born a remarkably handsome boy, he was transformed into an androgynous being by united with the nymph Salmacis....
was an immortal son of Hermes through Aphrodite
Aphrodite

Aphrodite is the classical Greek mythology goddess of love, sex, and beauty. According to Greek oral poet Hesiod, she was born when Uranus was castrated by his son Cronus....
. He was changed into an intersex person when the gods literally granted the nymph Salmacis
Salmacis

In Greek mythology, Salmacis was an atypical naiad who rejected the ways of the virginal Culture of Greece goddess Artemis in favor of vanity and idleness....
' wish that they never separate.

Priapus
The god Priapus
Priapus

In Greek mythology, Priapus was a minor rustic fertility god, protector of livestock, fruit plants, gardens and male genitalia. His Roman mythology equivalent was Mutinus Mutunus....
was a son of Hermes and Aphrodite. In Priapus, Hermes' phallic origins survived. According to other sources, Priapus was a son of Dionysus and Aphrodite

Eros
According to some sources, the mischievous winged god of love Eros
EROS

EROS may refer to:* Center for Earth Resources Observation and Science, the Center for Earth Resources Observation and Science, the United States national archive of remotely sensed images of the Earth's land surface...
, son of Aphrodite, was sired by Hermes, though the gods Ares
Ares

In Greek mythology, Ares is the son of Zeus and Hera. Though often referred to as the Twelve Olympians God of warfare, he is more accurately the god of bloodlust, or slaughter personified: "Ares is apparently an ancient abstract noun meaning throng of battle, war."...
and Hephaestus
Hephaestus

Hephaestus was a Greek god whose Roman equivalent was Vulcan . He was the god of technology, blacksmiths, craftsmen, artisans, sculpture, metals, metallurgy, Fire and volcanoes....
were also among those said to be the sire, whereas in the Theogeny, Hesiod
Hesiod

Hesiod was a Greek language oral poet, his date is uncertain but leading scholars agree that Hesiod lived in the latter half of the Eighth-century BCE....
claims that Eros was born of nothing before the Gods. Eros' Roman name was Cupid
Cupid

In Roman mythology, Cupid is the god of eroticism love and beauty. He is also known by another one of his Latin names, Amor . He is the son of goddess Aphrodite....
.

Tyche
The goddess of prosperity
Prosperity

Prosperity is the state of flourishing, thriving, success, or good forture. Prosperity often encompasses wealth but also includes others factors which are independent of wealth to varying degrees, such as happiness and health....
, Tyche
Tyche

In Ancient Greek religion, Tyche was the presiding tutelary deity that governed the fortune and prosperity of a city, its destiny. Increasingly during the Hellenistic period, cities had their own specific iconic version of Tyche, wearing a mural crown ....
(Greek
Greek language

Greek is an Indo-European languages native to the southern Balkan peninsula, the language of the Greek people. It forms an independent branch within Indo-European....
), or Fortuna
Fortuna (mythology)

File:TomisFortuna2.JPGIn Roman mythology, Fortuna goddess of fortune, was the personification of luck; hopefully she brought good luck, but she could be represented veiled and blind, as modern depictions of Justice are seen, and came to represent the capriciousness of life....
, was sometimes said to be the daughter of Hermes and Aphrodite.

Abderus
Abderus
Abderus

In Greek mythology Abderus or Abderos was a Greek hero, reputed a son of Hermes by some accounts, and eponym of Abdera, Thrace.The paternity of Abderus differs according to the sources....
was a son of Hermes who was devoured by the Mares of Diomedes
Mares of Diomedes

The Mares of Diomedes, also called the Mares of Thrace were four man-eating horses in Greek mythology. Magnificent, wild, and uncontrollable, they belonged to the giant Diomedes King of Thrace , king of Thrace, a son of Ares and Cyrene who lived on the shores of the Black Sea....
. He had gone to the Mares with his friend Heracles
Heracles

In Greek mythology, Heracles or Herakles meaning "glory of Hera", or "Glorious through Hera" Alcides or Alcaeus " was a hero, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, foster son of Amphitryon and great-grandson of Perseus....
.

Autolycus
Autolycus
Autolycus

In Greek mythology, Autolycus was a son of Hermes and Chione . He was the husband of Neaera, or according to Homer of Amphithea. Autolycus fathered Anticlea and several sons of whom only Aesimus is named....
, the Prince of Thieves, was a son of Hermes and grandfather of Odysseus
Odysseus

Odysseus or Ulysses , in Greek mythology , was a legendary Greeks king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's Epic poetry, the Odyssey. Odysseus also plays a key role in Homer's Iliad and other works in the Epic Cycle....
.

List of Hermes' consorts and children

Hermes in myth

The Iliad

In Homer
Homer

Homer is traditionally held to be the author of the ancient Greek language epic poems the Iliad and the Odyssey, as well as of the Homeric Hymns....
's Iliad, Hermes helps King Priam
Priam

In Greek mythology, Priam was the king of Troy during the Trojan War and youngest son of Laomedon. Modern scholars derive his name from the Luwian compound Priimuua, which means "exceptionally courageous"....
of Troy
Troy

Troy is a legendary city and center of the Trojan War, as described in the Epic Cycle, and especially in the Iliad, one of the two epic poems attributed to Homer....
(Ilium
Troy

Troy is a legendary city and center of the Trojan War, as described in the Epic Cycle, and especially in the Iliad, one of the two epic poems attributed to Homer....
) sneak into the Achaean (Greek) encampment to confront Achilles
Achilles

In Greek mythology, Achilles was a Greeks hero of the Trojan War, the central character and the greatest warrior of Homer's Iliad, which takes for its theme ; the Wrath of Achilles....
and convince him to return Hector
Hector

In Greek mythology, Hector , or Hektor, is a Troy prince and one of the greatest fighters in the Trojan War. He is the son of Priam and Hecuba, descendant of Dardanus, who lived under Mount Ida, and of Tros, the founder of Troy....
's body.

The body of Sarpedon is carried away from the battlefield of Troy by the twin winged gods, Hypnos (Sleep) and Thanatos (Death). The pair are depicted clothed in armour, and are overseen by Hermes Psychopompos (Guide of the Dead). The scene appears in book 16 of Homer's Iliad:

"[Apollon] gave him [the dead Sarpedon] into the charge of swift messengers to carry him, of Hypnos (Sleep) and Thanatos (Death), who are twin brothers, and these two presently laid him down within the rich countryside of broad Lykia."

The Odyssey

In book 5, Hermes is sent to demand from Calypso
Calypso (mythology)

Sorry, no overview for this topic
Odysseus's release from the island of Ogygia
Ogygia

Ogygia , is an island mentioned in Homer's Odyssey book V as the home of the nymph Calypso , the daughter of the Titan Atlas , also known as Atlantis ...
; in book 10, he protects Odysseus from Circe
Circe

In Greek mythology, Circe , is a Queen goddess living on the island of Aeaea.Circe's father was Helios , the god of the sun and the owner of the land where Odysseus' men ate cattle, and her mother was Hecate the goddess of magic and the moon ; she was sister of two kings of Colchis, Aeetes and Perses, and of Pasipha?, mother of the Mino...
by bestowing upon him a herb, moly
Moly

Moly may refer to:* Moly , a magic herb in Greek mythology* Allium moly, a flowering plant* Molybdenum, an element* Molybdenum disulfide, a lubricant...
, which protects him from her soporific spell. Hermes also appears in book 24, where he plays the role of psychopomp
Psychopomp

Many religions include a particular spiritual being, angel, or deity whose responsibility is to escort newly-deceased souls to the afterlife. These creatures are called psychopomps, from the Greek language word ????p??p?? , literally meaning the "guide of souls"....
and leads the freshly slain suitors and disloyal maids to the underworld. Odysseus
Odysseus

Odysseus or Ulysses , in Greek mythology , was a legendary Greeks king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's Epic poetry, the Odyssey. Odysseus also plays a key role in Homer's Iliad and other works in the Epic Cycle....
, the main character of the Odyssey, is of matrilineal descent from Hermes.

Perseus
Hermes aided Perseus
Perseus

Perseus , the legendary founder of Mycenae and of the Mycenae there, was the first of the mythic heroes of Greek mythology whose exploits in defeating various archaic monsters provided the founding myths in the cult of the Twelve Olympians....
in killing the gorgon
Gorgon

In Greek mythology, the Gorgon was a vicious monster with sharp fangs. She was a protective deity from early religious concepts. Her power was so strong that one attempting to look upon her, would be turned to stone, therefore, such images were put upon items from temples to wine kraters for protection....
(Medusa) by giving Perseus his winged sandals and Zeus
Zeus

Zeus in Greek mythology is the king of the gods, the ruler of Mount Olympus and the god of the sky father and List of thunder gods. His symbols are the thunderbolt, eagle, bull , and oak....
' sickle
Sickle

A sickle is a hand-held agricultural tool with a curved blade typically used for harvesting cereal crop or cutting grass for hay. The inside of the curve is sharp, so that the user can draw or swing the blade against the base of the crop, catching it in the curve and slicing it at the same time....
. He also gave Perseus Hades' helmet of invisibility and told him to use it so that Medusa's immortal sisters could not see him. Athena
Athena

In Greek mythology, Athena is the shrewd companion of Hero and the goddess of Hero endeavour. She is the virgin patron of Athens, which built the Parthenon to worship her....
helped Perseus as well by lending him her polished shield. Hermes also guided Perseus to the Underworld.

Prometheus
In the ancient play Prometheus Bound
Prometheus Bound

Prometheus Bound is an Ancient Greek theatre. In classical antiquity, this drama was attributed to Aeschylus, but is now considered by some scholars to be the work of another hand, perhaps one as late as ca....
, attributed to Aeschylus
Aeschylus

Aeschylus was an Ancient Greece playwright. He is often recognized as the father or the founder of tragedy, and is the earliest of the three Greek tragedy whose Play survive extant, the others being Sophocles and Euripides....
, Zeus sends Hermes to confront the enchained Titan Prometheus about a prophecy of the Titan's that Zeus would be overthrown. Hermes scolds Prometheus for being unreasonable and willing to endure torture, but Prometheus refuses to give him details about the prophecy.

Herse/Aglaurus/Pandrosus
When Hermes loved Herse
Herse

Herse is a figure in Greek mythology, daughter of Cecrops , sister to Aglauros and Pandrosos. According to Apollodorus, when Hephaestus unsuccessfully attempted to rape Athena, she wiped his semen off her leg with wool and threw it on the ground, impregnating Gaia ....
, one of three sisters who served Athena
Athena

In Greek mythology, Athena is the shrewd companion of Hero and the goddess of Hero endeavour. She is the virgin patron of Athens, which built the Parthenon to worship her....
as priestesses or parthenos
Parthenos

Parthenos is a genus of butterflies that includes the species Parthenos sylvia....
, her jealous older sister Aglaurus stood between them. Hermes changed Aglaurus to stone. Hermes then impregnated Aglaurus while she was stone. Cephalus
Cephalus

Cephalus is an Ancient Greek name, used both for historical persons and for characters in Greek mythology. The word cephalus is Greek for "head", perhaps used here because Cephalus was the founding "head" of a great family that includes Odysseus....
was the son of Hermes and Herse
Herse

Herse is a figure in Greek mythology, daughter of Cecrops , sister to Aglauros and Pandrosos. According to Apollodorus, when Hephaestus unsuccessfully attempted to rape Athena, she wiped his semen off her leg with wool and threw it on the ground, impregnating Gaia ....
. Hermes had another son, Ceryx
Ceryx

In Greek mythology, Ceryx was a son of Hermes and either Pandrosus or Aglaulus. He was, like his father, a messenger of the gods. Ceryx was the ancestor of the Kerukes, a family of priests in Athens, Greece....
, who was said to be the offspring of either Herse or Herse's other sister, Pandrosus
Pandrosus

Pandrosus was a figure in Greek mythology, and a daughter of Cecrops . According to Apollodorus, Hephaestus attempted to rape Athena but was unsuccessful....
. With Aglaurus, Hermes was the father of Eumolpus
Eumolpus

In Greek mythology, Eumolpus was the son of Poseidon and Chione. According to Apollodorus, Chione, daughter of Boreas and Oreithyia, pregnant with Eumolpus by Poseidon, was frightened of her father's reaction so she threw the baby into the ocean....
.

Other stories
In the story of the musician Orpheus
Orpheus

Orpheus was a legendary figure, probably from Thracian origin, venerated by the Greeks and Thracians of the Classical age as a chief among poets and musicians, and the perfector of the lyre invented by Hermes....
, Hermes brought Eurydice
Eurydice

In Greek mythology, Eurydice was an oak nymph or a sweet maiden. She was the wife of Orpheus. Orpheus loved her dearly; on their wedding day, Orpheus played songs filled with happiness as his bride danced through the meadow....
back to Hades after Orpheus failed to bring her back to life when he looked back toward her after Hades told him not to.

Hermes helped to protect the infant god Dionysus
Dionysus

In classical mythology, Dionysus or Dionysos , is the God of wine, the inspirer of ritual madness and ecstasy, and a major figure of Greek mythology, and one of the twelve Olympians, among whom Greek mythology treated Dionysus as a late arrival....
from Hera
Hera

In the Twelve Olympians of classical Greek Mythology, Hera or Here was the wife and older sister of Zeus. Her chief function was as goddess of women and marriage....
, after Hera destroyed Dionysus' mortal mother Semele
Semele

File:Gustave Moreau 004.jpgIn Greek mythology, Semele, daughter of Cadmus and Harmonia , was the mortal mother of Dionysus by Zeus in one of his many origin myths....
through her jealousy that Semele had conceived an immortal son of Zeus.

Hermes changed the Minyades
Minyades

The Minyades were three sisters in Greek mythology who were daughters of Minyas , and the protagonists of a myth about the perils of neglecting the worship of Dionysus....
into bats.

Hermes learned from the Thriae
Thriae

The Thriae or Thriai were nymphs, three virginal sisters, one of a number of such triads in Greek mythology who were able to see the future and interpret the signs of nature and omens, a gift they taught Apollo, who passed it to Hermes....
the arts of fortune-telling and divination.

When the gods created Pandora
Pandora

[Image:Pandora.jpg|right|thumb|300px|"The Creation of "[A]NESIDORA" on a white-ground kylix by the Tarquinia Painter, ca 460 BC In Greek mythology, Pandora was the first woman....
, it was Hermes who brought her to mortals and bestowed upon her a strong sense of curiosity.

King Atreus
Atreus

In Greek mythology, Atreus was the son of Pelops and Hippodamia, a king of Mycenae, and the father of Agamemnon and Menelaus. Collectively, his descendants are known as Atreidai or Atreidae....
of Mycenae
Mycenae

Mycenae , is an archaeology in Greece, located about 90 km south-west of Athens, in the north-eastern Peloponnese. Argos is 6 km to the south; Corinth, 48 km to the north....
retook the throne from his brother Thyestes
Thyestes

In Greek mythology, Thyestes was the son of Pelops, King of Olympia, Greece, and Hippodamia and father of Pelopia and Aegisthus. Thyestes and his twin brother, Atreus, were exiled by their father for having murdered their half-brother, Chrysippus in their desire for the throne of Olympia, Greece....
using advice he received from the trickster Hermes. Thyestes agreed to give the kingdom back when the sun moved backwards in the sky, a feat that Zeus
Zeus

Zeus in Greek mythology is the king of the gods, the ruler of Mount Olympus and the god of the sky father and List of thunder gods. His symbols are the thunderbolt, eagle, bull , and oak....
accomplished. Atreus retook the throne and banished Thyestes.

Diogenes
Diogenes of Sinope

Diogenes "the Cynic", Ancient Greece philosopher, was born in Sinope about 412 BC , and died in 323 BC, at Corinth. Details of his life come in the form of anecdotes , especially from Diogenes La?rtius, in his book Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers....
, speaking in jest, related the myth of Hermes taking pity on his son Pan, who was pining for Echo but unable to get a hold of her, and teaching him the trick of masturbation
Masturbation

Masturbation refers to sexual stimulation, especially of one's own sex organ , often to the point of orgasm. The stimulation can be performed manually, by other types of bodily contact , by use of objects or tools, or by some combination of these methods....
to relieve his suffering. Pan later taught the habit to shepherds.

Battus
Battus

Battus can refer to:*In Greek mythology, Battus is a shepherd from Pylos, Battus witnessed Hermes stealing Apollo 's cattle. Though he promised his silence, he told many others....
, a shepherd from Pylos, witnessed Hermes stealing Apollo's cattle. Though he promised his silence, he told many others. Hermes turned him to stone.

Hermes in classical art

Pop Culture

Hermes bestows the gift of super speed to Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman

Wonder Woman is a Character , a DC Comics Superhero#Superheroines created by William Moulton Marston. First appearing in All Star Comics #8 , she is one of three characters to have been continuously published by DC Comics since the company's 1944 inception ....
in her origin story.
The winged sandal of Hermes is used as the icon of the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company
Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company

The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company was founded in 1898 by Frank Seiberling. Today it is the third largest tire company in the world after Bridgestone and Michelin....
.
Hermes' caduceus
Caduceus

The caduceus is typically depicted as a short herald's Staff entwined by two Serpent in the form of a double helix, and sometimes is surmounted by wings....
is used as a symbol of health and medicine.
In the video game, Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3, Hermes is the initial persona of Junpei Iori.
In the book Gods Behaving Badly, Hermes lives with several other Olympic gods in a modern London townhouse.

External links

stories from original sources & images from classical art

: a table drawn up from Michael Ventris and John Chadwick, Documents in Mycenaean Greek second edition (Cambridge 1973)