The wing shod messenger of the Olympians, Hermes is the beloved son of Zeus and the nymph, Maia (daughter of Atlas and one of the Pleiades). (Theogony, line 939)
Zeus came to Maia in the darkness of night so that his wife, Hera, would not know of his amorous intentions towards the lovely nymph. Maia lived in a secluded cave on Mount Kyllene (Cyllene) in Arcadia. Hermes was born at dawn of the tenth month after Zeus’ union with Maia.
Hermes was to become a shrewd schemer with the power to enter the dreams of mortals, the guardian of gates and watcher in the night. Immediately after being born, Hermes left his cradle and ventured from his mother’s cave where he encountered a mountain tortoise. He took the tortoise and, as quick as a thought, scooped the animal from its shell, covered the shell with ox hide and attached two arms joined by a crosspiece on which he stretched sheep gut. Within minutes he had conceived and constructed the first seven-stringed lyre. He sang of Zeus and his mother. He sang of his mother’s handmaidens and the cave in which he had been born.
Hungry for adventure, Hermes left his mother’s cave and began to roam the countryside. He reached the mountains of Pieria by the time Helios (the Sun) had descended into the ocean. He found the sacred grove of Apollon and stole fifty cattle from Apollon’s herd. Hermes drove the divine cattle from the grove and donned crude, overlarge sandals to leave gigantic footprints to confound anyone who might follow him. He also made the cattle walk backwards so that it would look as if a they were coming instead of going.
A farmer saw Hermes passing and the infant god told the old man to forget what he had seen and tell no one of the mysterious cattle passing in the night. After crossing the river Alpheios, Hermes sheltered the cattle and built the first fire on the face of the earth. He killed and roasted two of the beasts and dedicated the finest pieces of meat to the Immortals on Mount Olympos (Olympus). He then stretched the hides to dry in the sun and made his way back to his mother’s cave. Entering the cave through the keyhole as a vaporous mist, Hermes returned to his cradle and pretended that he was a helpless infant. Maia was not fooled by his pretensions and scolded her son for being a rogue and liar. Hermes said that if he could not share in the affluence and honors of the other Immortals, he would become the chief of robbers.
At dawn of the next day Apollon began searching for his stolen cattle. He questioned the farmer who Hermes had passed and soon deduced that his cattle had been stolen by the son of Zeus and Maia. Apollon went swiftly to Mount Kyllene and confronted the infant Hermes and said that he would cast him down into Tartaros (Tartarus) if he did not return the stolen cattle. Hermes found it easy to lie and declared that he knew nothing of the cattle. Apollon was not fooled and took Hermes from his crib and went to Mount Olympos to stand before Zeus so that Hermes could be judged.
Zeus listened to Apollon’s truthful account of the theft of the cattle but Hermes pretended innocence and said that he was only born yesterday and too young to know the ways of deceit and falsehood. Zeus laughed at the child’s roguishness and commanded Hermes to take Apollon to the cattle. Hermes obeyed without hesitation and soon he and Apollon were at the place where the cattle had been hidden. Apollon was amazed that a mere infant had been able to kill two of the cattle and stretch their hides to dry in the sun. Hermes began to play his lyre and again Apollon was amazed. Hermes sang of the first Immortals and how they had divided creation into their dominions. Apollon said that he had danced and sang with the Muses but had never heard such beautiful music or seen such a masterful musician. He promised Hermes many gifts and assured him a place of renown amongst the Immortals. Hermes accepted the blessings of Apollon and gave him the lyre as a token of his affection. After hearing Apollon play the lyre with such art, Hermes then created the musical pipes. With the blessing of Zeus, Apollon pronounced that Hermes would become the lord over lions, boars, dogs and all animal herds on the face of the earth. Apollon also made Hermes the messenger of Hades (lord of the Underworld) but he would not give Hermes the gift of prophecy because that gift was his alone and only he was allowed to know the will of Zeus. As a minor concession, Apollon told Hermes that there were three virgin goddesses who lived under the folds of Mount Parnassos (Mount Parnassus) who would flitter about and feed on yellow honey. After they had eaten the honey, they would only speak the truth and if Hermes questioned them carefully he would learn many things. He would then have the power to impart these truths to men of his choosing for their benefit. Apollon also gave Hermes a beautiful golden staff with three branches to represent wealth and affluence. The staff would protect the young god against harm and enforce the laws of righteous words and actions. (Homeric Hymns to Hermes)
Hermes thus became the friend to the mortals of the earth. He introduced weights, measures and games of chance. He is the giver of good luck and has a hand in all secret dealings and stratagems. He is, of course, sacred to all heralds. From his name, we have the word hermetic which means sealed and impervious to outside influence. If a message is given to Hermes, it will be delivered faithfully to the intended recipient. His domain includes roads, traffic and markets. In ancient times, a statue indicative of Hermes was placed atop pillars to mark boundaries.
When the first woman was crafted by the Immortals she was named Pandora. Her name means All-Endowed because, at the command of Zeus, she was given gifts from various Immortals and was thus Endowed By All.
Zeus created Pandora as a gift for Epimetheus and despite warnings from his brother, Prometheus, Epimetheus accepted Pandora because she was irresistible. Pandora was the punishment to the race of men because Prometheus had given them fire.
Hephaistos (Hephaestus) molded Pandora’s body from earth into the likeness of a modest young girl. Athene (Athena) taught Pandora the skills of weaving and gave her dexterity. Aphrodite (goddess of Love) put a mist upon her head to engender longings and desire. Hermes gave her the mind of a hussy and a treacherous nature. The Graces and Peitho (Persuasion) gave her necklaces of gold and the Seasons put a halo of flowers on Pandora’s head.
When Epimetheus accepted Pandora he unleashed all the evils on the world. The only positive influence that Pandora brought to the world of men was Hope (Ελπσ) and although women were designed as a curse to men, the only thing worse than marriage was for a man to live and die without the love of a woman. (Works and Days, line 67)
In The Odyssey by Homer, the long suffering hero of the Trojan War, Odysseus, was stranded on the island of Ogygia for seven years as the guest/captive of the nymph Kalypso. Hermes was sent by Zeus to announce his clear purpose ... Odysseus must be sent home, or at least, towards home. When Hermes told Kalypso of Zeus’ command, she shuddered and reminded him of the other gods and goddesses who had shared their beds with mortals. Some did it for noble reasons and others for selfish reasons, but regardless, Zeus and the other Immortals had permitted their indulgences. In spite of her protests, Kalypso obeyed the will of Zeus and sent Odysseus on his way. (Odyssey, book 5, lines 29 and 121)
Hermes appears later in The Odyssey ... after Odysseus and a few of his shipmates escaped death at the hands of the giants, the Laistrygones, they sailed for open water but ended up on the island of Aiaia (Aeaea) which was the home of the dread goddess, Kirke (Circe). Odysseus sent out a scouting party and only one man returned. The survivor reported that all the other sailors had been turned into pigs with human faces by the goddess Kirke. Odysseus was determined to save his companions from this cruel fate but also determined that he would not endanger any more of his crewmembers. He went alone through the lonely forest that led to Kirke’s palace. Hermes, disguised as a young man, met Odysseus on the path and warned Odysseus about the wiles of Kirke. Hermes plucked a plant from the ground which he called ‘moly’ and told Odysseus that the plant, which only a god could pull from the ground, would give him protection from the effects of Kirke’s drugs. Hermes told Odysseus that after he had accepted the drugs from Kirke, she would try to strike him with her wand and at that moment he was to draw his sword and threaten her. Odysseus did as Hermes had advised and was able to subdue Kirke and free his enswined companions. (Odyssey, book 10, lines 140 and 289)
Hermes is often called Argeiphontes, i.e. The Slayer of Argos. The killing of the herdsman Argos was not an easy task and Hermes became famous for killing him. Argos was called Argos Panoptes, meaning ‘all seeing,’ because he had eyes all over his body to better guard his flocks. Zeus, in one of his many infidelities, fell in love with the fair maiden Io. She refused Zeus’ affection and her father turned her out of his house in fear of Zeus’ retribution. In an effort to hide this new infatuation from his wife Hera, Zeus turned the young maid into a black and white heifer. Hera saw through the sham at once. She assigned Argos to guard the heifer Io so that Zeus could not approach her without being seen. Zeus was inflamed because he could no longer pursue the lovely Io without Hera knowing of his intended indiscretion. Zeus sent Hermes to kill Argos but the curse was not broken. Hera simply sent a gad-fly to bite and goad the poor heifer-girl to distant lands and out of the reach of Zeus. This is one of the saddest tales in Greek Mythology. Io’s conversation with Prometheus in the poem Prometheus Bound is quite moving. She tells him of her past and how she can never sleep in the same place two nights in succession. She begged Prometheus for his prediction of the future. Prometheus offered Io no hope in the short term but in Egypt, he told her, she would be freed from the curse of Hera.
On the lighter side, when Hermes and Apollon saw how Hephaistos (Hephaestus) had trapped his wife Aphrodite (goddess of Love) and Ares (god of War) in the act of love and displayed them for all the Immortals to see, Apollon asked Hermes how he would feel if he were trapped in such an embarrassing position. The light hearted Hermes replied that he would “suffer thrice the bindings if only he could share the bed of Aphrodite the golden.” (Odyssey, book 8, line 323)
In The Iliad by Homer, Hermes appears as the kindly messenger of Zeus and was chosen to escort king Priam through the battlelines to retrieve the body of his fallen son, Hector. After Priam and his servant left the safety of the walls of the city of Troy, Hermes disguised himself as a young man and waited for them on the road. Priam was a leader and king because of his quick mind, he immediately recognized the scruffy stranger as an Immortal and spoke respectfully to him. Hermes took Priam through the battlelines and past the Achaean (Achaian) guards without being seen. Hermes opened the gates to Achilles’ compound and then disappeared into thin air. Priam went to murderous Achilles as a supplicant and begged for the return of his son’ body so that he and his family might give the Trojan hero a proper funeral. Achilles, in a rare moment of kindness (and knowing that the return of Hector’s body was the commandment of Zeus), allowed Priam to take his son’s body and leave the Achaean camp unharmed. As Eos (the Dawn) approached, Hermes roused Priam and safely led the grieving father and his once glorious son back to Troy.
Before the adventures of Odysseus and a generation before the fall of the city of Troy, Hermes was a part of one of the greatest epics of the ancient Greek world: the Quest for the Golden Fleece.
The Golden Fleece which Jason and the Argonauts sought was from a golden ram which had been created by Hermes and the nymph, Nephele (Cloud).
Nephele married a mortal named Athamas who was the king of Orchomenos (Orchomenus) and they had two children: a girl named Helle and a boy named Phrixus. Eventually Athamas rejected Nephele for a mortal woman named Ino. Athamas’ new wife had no love for his children and plotted to kill Phrixus by offering him as a sacrifice.
In order to save Phrixus’ life, Nephele and Hermes created a golden ram to carry the two children to safety. The youths flew away from Orchomenos on the ram but Helle fell from its back and drowned in the sea. The Hellespont was named after her, i.e. (Helle’s Sea). Phrixus escaped to the land of Kolchis (Colchis) and was given sanctuary by king Aietes (Aeetes). Phrixus offered the ram in sacrifice and hung the Golden Fleece in the Garden of Ares where it remained until Jason and the Argonauts, with the aid of the king’s daughter, Medeia (Medea), stole the fleece and made their escape from Kolchis.
The line numbers listed here correspond fairly well with the Lattimore and Murray/Wyatt translations of The Iliad. Other translations (Fitzgerald, Fagles et al) do not correspond as well but, with a small amount of effort, you should be able to find the reference you need regardless of the translation you use. Lattimore (ISBN 0226469409); A.T. Murray/William F. Wyatt Vol. I & II (ISBN 0674995791 and 0674995805); Robert Fitzgerald (ISBN 0374529051); Robert Fagles (ISBN 0140275363)
The line numbers listed here correspond fairly well with the Lattimore and Murray/Dimock translations of The Odyssey. Other translations (Fitzgerald, Fagles et al) do not correspond as well but, with a small amount of effort, you should be able to find the reference you need regardless of the translation you use. Richmond Lattimore (ISBN 0060931957); A.T. Murray/George E. Dimock Vol. I & II (ISBN 0674995619 and 0674995627); Robert Fitzgerald (ISBN 0374525749); Robert Fagles (ISBN 0140268863)
