Hermes the Messenger

in #myth8 years ago

In Greek mythology, Hermes is one of the Olympian gods and is considered to be the 12th god. Like many gods living on Mount Olympus such as Athena, Ares, Apollo, Hephaestus, and Artemis - Hermes is the son of Zeus. Hermes is a messenger of the gods and is also known as the god of the travelers, the street, the cattle, the merchants, the youth, and the thieves.

He is the guide of the souls of the dead or psychopompus, to the world of Hades in the underworld. Hermes has a symbol called kerykeion or caduceus which is the scepter of medicine. He is also known for having winged sandals. In Roman mythology, Hermes is referred to as Mercury. Maia, the daughter of Atlas, is Hermes's mother, but little is known about him other than a brief mention in Hesiod.

It is said that soon after birth, Hermes kills the tortoise and uses its shell to make lyre (a kind of harp). Lyre certainly needs a string. For that Hermes stole his brother's cattle, Apollo, so it can use the intestines of cattle to complete the instrument. Knowing well that the act would make Apollo unhappy, Hermes tried to cover up his theft.

All of Hermes' efforts ended in vain after his actions were caught by an elderly man who later reported them to Apollo. When Apollo meets Hermes, he only sees a sleeping infant looking innocent. Apollo then asks Zeus as the referee. Hermes finally confessed his deed and offered his home-made lyre as a redeemer.

Apollo was very happy and gave all his livestock to Hermes in return. Apollo also gave Hermes his caduceus a tangled stick attached by two snakes. Hermes is also known to free Io from Hera after Zeus turns Io into a cow to hide the act of his marriage from Hera.

Hermes has several children. Daphnis, his son with nymph, is the inventor of pastoral music. Pan, another son of Hermes, has no obviously identified mother, a half-human and half-goat figure associated with the Roman god Faunus. Abderus is another son of Hermes who also does not have a known mother. He is a friend of Hercules or Heracles in the story of the capture of horses from Diomedes.

The captured horse is then handed over to Abderus to be treated while Hercules leaves. After being abandoned, Abderus ate Diomedes horse which made Hercules very angry. Hermaphroditus was the son of Hermes with the goddess Aphrodite, while Autolycus, the great thief, was the son of Hermes with Chione, Daedalion's daughter. Autolycus is also the grandfather of Odysseus.


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