In both accounts, though, Hermes strikes a deal in the end with Apollo, trading cattle for lyre. Of course, there are various myths, and in one, Hermes first stole the cattle and then created the lyre from a tortoise he killed. By midday he had created and played the lyre, and by evening he was sneaking around, stealing Apollo’s cattle. Hermes was born as a baby (this needs to be specified when it comes to the Greek gods) but grew up in a single day. And at dawn of the same day, Hermes was born! He was born in the same deep cave where he was conceived (there was little time to move). His mother is Maia, a nymph and the daughter of Atlas.Īccording to the myth, Zeus lay with Maia in the quietest hour of the night, when all the other gods were fast asleep. Hermes’ father is Zeus, the iconic god of thunder. This goddess aided the Olympians as their messenger during the Titanomachy, while her twin sister Arke aided the Titans. Note: Another messenger of the gods is Iris ( Ίρις). Hermes never marries (though he has a number of lovers), and after the Archaic period, he is usually depicted as a youthful, beardless man. He’s his father’s frequent attendant, guide to dead souls, precocious trickster, and a happy favourite of the gods. Hermes is known for his uniquely winged shoes and travellers attire, but he’s much more than a messenger god.

To give a little more information on our trickster god, I’ve broken this up into common questions and their answers. Hermes agoraios and the Charites, relief of the Passage of Theori, from the agora of Thasos, ca. The nature of the event was a little different in the different places, and apparently, in Cydonia, social order was inverted for the festival, and older masters waited on their young slaves! Unfortunately, not much else is known about this festival. The festival was held in many parts of Greece, including Athens, Pheneos, and Delos. It was restricted to ephebes (male adolescents), who would participate in various rowdy gymnastic and sports events. Caduceus (a staff with wings and two snakes wound around it – not to be mistaken with the staff of Asclepius, which has one snake and is now an international symbol of medicine)Īn annual festival held in honour of Hermes, the Hermaea was an athletic festival. Heralds, thieves, travellers, language, trade, luck and commerce he is the messenger god, the go-between for the divine deities, the world of mortal men, and even the underworld. Hodios – the patron of travellers and wayfarers Psychopompos – one who escorts the deceased to the afterlifeĪtlantiades – because of his family ties with the god Atlas, his mother’s fatherĬyllenian – Hermes was, in some myths, born at Mount Cyllene, and the gods carry the name of their birthplace Giant-slayer – this is another name for the same deed as above Prince of thieves – Hermes steals Apollo’s oxen the day after he’s born, and is ever-after known by this nameĪrgeïphontes or Slayer of Argus – Hermes slew the 100-eyed giant Argus Panoptes – it’s one of the myths below! Worshipped across ancient Greece for many millennia, his cult mainly consisted of young men. The Homeric Hymn to Hermes describes him as ‘blandly cunning, a robber, a cattle driver, a bringer of dreams, a watcher by night, a thief at the gates, one who was soon to show forth wonderful deeds among the deathless gods’. He is mentioned as a fertility god in 15th to 13th century BC Linear B tablets of the Mycenaeans! Hermes’ cult is one of the oldest known in Greek history. We’ve put together information on Hermes’ worship in ancient Greece, his patronage and epithets, and the surviving stories about this mischievous god. It just so happens that sometimes he wants to help!

He’s also an amoral character, and does whatever he wants to. He is a trickster since birth, a messenger, a traveller, and a trader. The herald god is a crosser of boundaries and moves between the mortal world and the immortal realm – both Mt Olympus and the underworld – more than any other god. He was always considered to be particularly fond of humans – and so the humans were particularly fond of him! Hermes is one of the most popular gods in Greek mythology.

Hermes greek god