Hermes

Hermes is the winged herald and messenger of the Olympian gods. In addition, he is also a divine trickster, and the god of roads, flocks, commerce, and thieves. A precocious newborn, he invented the lyre and stole Apollo’s cattle on the very first day of his life. Hermes also guides the souls of the dead down to the Underworld.

Who Is Hermes in Greek Mythology?

Hermes is the Olympian messenger god, the son of Zeus and the nymph Maia, and the god of travel, trade, boundaries, and thieves. Hesiod calls him the swift messenger of the gods (Works and Days 84–85), and in the poems almost every other god relies on him to carry out their business.

• Parents: Zeus and Maia, eldest of the seven daughters of Atlas and Pleione, the Pleiades; born in a cave on Mount Cyllene in Arcadia (Homeric Hymn 4 to Hermes 1–19; Apollodorus, Library 3.10.1–2)
• Position: one of the Twelve Olympians; at his first sacrifice in the Hymn he divides the meat into twelve portions (Hymn 4 to Hermes 128–129)
• Roman name: Mercury, who appears as Jupiter’s messenger in Virgil’s Aeneid (4.222–278); the words merchant and commerce come from the same Latin root
• Best known for: inventing the lyre, stealing Apollo’s cattle, and slaying the hundred-eyed Argus

What Is Hermes the God Of?

Hermes is the god of everything that crosses a line: roads, borders, messages, trade, and the passage from life to death. The Homeric Hymn describes him at his birth as a child of many tricks, a cunning schemer, a robber, a driver of cattle, a leader of dreams, a watcher by night and a lurker at the gates (Hymn 4 to Hermes 13–15).

• Travel and roads: patron of travellers and wayfarers; in the Odyssey he meets Odysseus on the way to Circe’s house, and in the Iliad he guides Priam through the night (Odyssey 10.275–308; Iliad 24.333–467)
• Trade and commerce: Apollo tells him that Zeus has given him the honour of establishing exchanges among men, and promises him a wand of wealth and riches (Hymn 4 to Hermes 516–517, 526–532)
• Heralds and speech: patron of messengers, ambassadors, orators, and interpreters; Plato has Socrates connect his name with speech, since he is an interpreter and a messenger, wily in speech, and oratorical (Cratylus 407e–408b)
• Thieves and trickery: patron of thieves, liars, gamblers, and cunning of every kind
• Flocks: protector of shepherds; in the Hymn to Pan he herds the sheep of a mortal man in Arcadia, where his son Pan is born (Hymn 19 to Pan 28–47); at Tanagra, Pausanias saw an image of Hermes carrying a ram on his shoulders (Description of Greece 9.22.1)
• Athletics: Pindar calls him the god who has the keeping of the games, and Pausanias saw an altar of Hermes of the Games at Olympia (Pindar, Olympian 6.77–80; Pausanias 5.14.9)
• The dead: as guide of souls, he leads the souls of the dead to the meadow of asphodel (Odyssey 24.1–14)

Why Is Hermes the God of Thieves?

Hermes became the god of thieves because he committed the first theft in Greek myth: on the day he was born, he slipped out of his cradle and stole fifty of Apollo’s cattle (Hymn 4 to Hermes 17–19, 73–74). The Greeks did not treat this as simple crime but as a sign of cleverness, and the same quality is honoured in his son and grandson.

• He drove the cattle backwards so their tracks pointed the wrong way, walked backwards himself, and wove sandals of twigs to hide his own footprints (Hymn 4 to Hermes 75–86)
• He then lied about it to Apollo and to Zeus himself, who laughed aloud at the sight of a child so cleverly denying everything (Hymn 4 to Hermes 389–390)
• His son Autolycus (Ovid, Metamorphoses 11.312–315) was the most skilled man of his time in thieving and oath-making, a gift that Hermes himself gave him; Autolycus named his grandson Odysseus (Odyssey 19.394–412)

Was Hermes a God or a Goddess?

Hermes is male – a god, never a goddess. The confusion usually comes from his child Hermaphroditus, who had both male and female features, and from the fashion house that borrowed his name in the nineteenth century.

• Homer describes him as a young man with the first down on his chin, in the loveliest bloom of youth (Iliad 24.347–348; Odyssey 10.277–279)
• Hermaphroditus was his son by Aphrodite, and the English word hermaphrodite comes from that child’s name (Ovid, Metamorphoses 4.288–292)
• The other divine messenger in the Iliad is a different deity altogether: Iris, goddess of the rainbow

Hermes’ Role

Hermes’ Name

Plato has Socrates connect the name with speech: the god who contrived (emesato) speaking (eirein) should be called Eiremes, a name later beautified into Hermes (Cratylus 408a–b). Hermes’ oldest image was the herm, a squared stone pillar with a head, set up in the doorways of houses and temples. Herodotus says that the Greeks learned to make these images of Hermes from the Pelasgians, and that the Athenians were the first Greeks to adopt them (Histories 2.51). In 415 BCE the Athenians were shocked when, in one night, the faces of most of the city’s herms were mutilated (Thucydides 6.27).

Hermes’ Portrayal and Symbolism

Homer shows Hermes ready for a journey: he ties on beautiful golden sandals that carry him over water and land like the wind, and takes his wand, with which he charms the eyes of men and wakes them from sleep (Odyssey 5.43–49; Iliad 24.339–345). This is the golden wand that Apollo gave him in the Hymn (Hymn 4 to Hermes 526–532; Apollodorus, Library 3.10.2). Hyginus tells that the wand became a sign of peace when Hermes put it between two serpents that were fighting, and that makers of the herald’s wand (the kerykeion, caduceus in Latin) therefore show two serpents twined round the rod (Astronomica 2.7). It is a different object from the staff of Asclepius, and Hermes’ wand is not a symbol of medicine.

What Did Hermes Look Like?

In the poems Hermes is a handsome youth. Homer compares him to a young prince with the first beard, in the bloom of youth, when he escorts Priam, and says he looked the same when he met Odysseus (Iliad 24.347–348; Odyssey 10.277–279).

• Recognisable attributes: the winged sandals and the golden wand (Odyssey 5.44–49; Virgil, Aeneid 4.239–244)
• In the Odyssey he is called Hermes of the golden wand (Odyssey 10.277)
• His oldest image is not human at all: the herm, a plain stone pillar with a carved head, set up at roadsides and doorways (Herodotus 2.51; Thucydides 6.27)

Hermes’ Characteristics and Personality

Hermes is quick, charming, and inventive. The Homeric Hymn calls him a child of many turns, cunning in scheming (Hymn 4 to Hermes 13).

• Inventive: he creates the lyre from a tortoise shell and the shepherd’s pipes (Hymn 4 to Hermes 47–51, 511–512)
• Persuasive: with Hesiod, he gives Pandora lies, coaxing words, and a thievish nature (Works and Days 77–80)
• Helpful: he gives Odysseus the herb moly to protect him from Circe, guides Priam through the Greek camp, and frees Ares from a bronze jar (Odyssey 10.302–306; Iliad 24.333–467; Iliad 5.385–391)
• Reluctant to fight gods: in the Iliad he declines to battle Leto, saying that it is hard to trade blows with the wives of Zeus (Iliad 21.497–501)

Hermes’ Epithets

Homer often calls him Argeiphontes, usually understood as “Argus-slayer,” and Diaktoros, a name for the messenger (Iliad 24.339; Odyssey 1.38). He is Cyllenian Hermes, from his birthplace (Odyssey 24.1), and Hermes of the golden wand (Odyssey 10.277). The Hymn calls him eriounios, a word of uncertain meaning, in its opening lines (Hymn 4 to Hermes 3).

According to some myths, Hermes wasn’t only a messenger of the gods, but also an orator and interpreter. In Greece, an interpreter was called hermeneus, and Plato connects the name of the god with this word (Cratylus 408a). Hermes also guides souls. In the Odyssey it is Cyllenian Hermes who calls out the souls of the slain suitors and leads them with his wand down the dark paths past the streams of Ocean and the gates of the Sun to the meadow of asphodel (Odyssey 24.1–14).

Hermes’ Life and Deeds

Famous Myths About Hermes

The best-known myths about Hermes divide into two kinds: the stories of his own mischief, and the countless myths in which he appears to help someone else. Each of the following is told in more detail below or on its own page.

• The first day: born at dawn, he plays the lyre by noon and steals Apollo’s cattle by evening (Hymn 4 to Hermes 17–19)
• Argus Panoptes: he lulls the hundred-eyed Argus to sleep with the reed pipes, a story and his wand, then cuts off his head to free Io (Ovid, Metamorphoses 1.668–723); in Apollodorus he kills Argus with a thrown stone (Library 2.1.3)
• Perseus: the winged sandals, the wallet and the cap used against Medusa are returned to Hermes (Apollodorus, Library 2.4.3)
• Odysseus: he brings the herb moly to Aeaea so that Circe’s magic cannot harm him (Odyssey 10.275–308)
• Priam and Achilles: he guides the old king of Troy safely through the Greek camp to ransom Hector’s body (Iliad 24.333–467)
• Pandora: he gives her lies and a cunning nature, her voice, and in Hesiod brings her to Epimetheus (Works and Days 77–85)
• Calypso: he carries Zeus’ order to Ogygia that Odysseus must be set free (Odyssey 5.28–148)
• The Gigantomachy: wearing the helmet of Hades, he kills the giant Hippolytus in the war against the giants (Apollodorus, Library 1.6.2)

Hermes, a Precocious Child

Hermes was the son of Zeus and Maia, the oldest of the seven Pleiades. Zeus visited Maia at night in her cave on Mount Cyllene while Hera slept (Hymn 4 to Hermes 5–9; Apollodorus, Library 3.10.2). Hermes was born at dawn. By noon he was able to play the lyre, and that same evening he stole the cattle of Apollo (Hymn 4 to Hermes 17–19). Afterward, he came back and tucked himself up in his cradle.

Hermes and Apollo

To invent the lyre, Hermes killed a tortoise and scooped the flesh out of its shell. Then he fitted reeds into the shell, stretched ox-hide over it, and strung seven strings of sheep-gut (Hymn 4 to Hermes 47–51). Once he found out who had stolen his cattle, Apollo took Hermes before Zeus, who laughed at the child’s denials and told the two brothers to search for the cattle together, with Hermes as guide (Hymn 4 to Hermes 387–392). Hermes appeased Apollo by giving him the lyre, and made himself the shepherd’s pipes (Hymn 4 to Hermes 509–512). Apollo swore that no one among the gods would be dearer to him, and promised him a golden wand of wealth and riches (Hymn 4 to Hermes 523–532). In Apollodorus, Apollo wanted the pipes too, and gave Hermes the golden wand in exchange for them (Library 3.10.2).

Hermes, a Darling of the Gods

Hermes was a trusted agent of the gods. He was the one who went down to the Underworld at Zeus’ command to bring Persephone back to her mother, Demeter (Hymn to Demeter 334–385). Above all, Hermes was very close with his father, acting in many of his affairs as Zeus’ messenger and helper. Most famously, he killed Argus Panoptes, whom Hera had set to watch over Zeus’ love Io (Apollodorus, Library 2.1.3). During the war with Typhon, Hermes and Aegipan stole Zeus’ sinews back from the cave where Typhon had hidden them and fitted them to Zeus (Library 1.6.3).

Zeus and Hermes

Hermes is the son of Zeus and, more than any other of his children, his personal agent. Where Zeus rules by force and authority, Hermes acts by speed, persuasion, and discretion.

• He carries Zeus’ commands to Calypso, to Aegisthus (whom he warned not to kill Agamemnon or marry Clytemnestra), and to Priam (Odyssey 5.28–148; Odyssey 1.37–43; Iliad 24)
• He is sent by Zeus to the Underworld to ask Hades to release Persephone (Hymn to Demeter 334–339)
• He takes the infant Dionysus, entrusted to him by Zeus after Semele’s death, to Ino and Athamas (Apollodorus, Library 3.4.3)
• He leads the three goddesses to Paris on Mount Ida at Zeus’ command (Apollodorus, Epitome 3.2)

Hermes, the Messenger

In his role as a messenger, Hermes is present in numerous other myths. He brings Pandora to Epimetheus (Hesiod, Works and Days 83–85), guides Priam safely to Achilles’ tent (Iliad 24), and in the Judgement of Paris leads Athena, Aphrodite, and Hera to Mount Ida where Paris was to decide which of them was the fairest (Apollodorus, Epitome 3.2). He also gave Heracles a sword (Library 2.4.11) and, on Zeus’ orders, sold him to Omphale (Library 2.6.3). The ram with the golden fleece that carried Phrixus and Helle was a gift from Hermes to Nephele (Library 1.9.1).

Hermes’ Women and Children

Hermes had relatively few consorts and children in the sources. In the Homeric Hymn to Pan, Hermes came to Arcadia and herded the sheep of a mortal man there, because he longed for the daughter of Dryops; he married her, and she bore Pan (Hymn 19 to Pan 28–47). Aphrodite bore him Hermaphroditus (Ovid, Metamorphoses 4.288–292). In the Iliad he secretly slept with Polymele, daughter of Phylas, a girl he had seen dancing in the chorus of Artemis, and she bore him the warrior Eudorus (Iliad 16.179–186). Apollodorus names Abderus, the companion of Heracles killed by the mares of Diomedes, as a son of Hermes (Library 2.5.8), and Myrtilus, the charioteer of Oenomaus, as another (Epitome 2.6). In another version (Apollodorus 3.14.3), Herse bore him Cephalus.

Once, Hermes and Apollo fell in love simultaneously with Chione, daughter of Daedalion, and slept with her on the very same day: Apollo came by night, and Hermes first put her to sleep with his wand. Chione gave birth to twins. Philammon, the son of Apollo, became a famous singer and player of the lyre. Hermes’ son Autolycus became a trickster and a thief (Ovid, Metamorphoses 11.301–317). Autolycus was the maternal grandfather of Odysseus, and Homer says Hermes himself gave him his skill at theft and oaths (Odyssey 19.394–398).

Debunking Hermes Myths & Unknown Facts

One common misconception about Hermes is that he is only a god of thieves and tricksters. While it is true that he has been associated with these aspects, his role as a messenger, guide, and protector of travelers, as well as his skills in oratory and invention, are just as important. Another misconception is that Hermes was a dishonest and untrustworthy deity. In the poems, he is often the one tasked with carrying out Zeus’ orders, and the Hymn says that his trick with the cattle was followed by a lasting friendship with Apollo.

Gymnasia and Palaestrae

A lesser-known fact about Hermes is that he was honoured in the contests of the Greek games. Pindar calls him the god who keeps the contests, and Pausanias saw an altar of Hermes of the Games at Olympia, close to the entrance of the stadium (Pindar, Olympian 6.77–80; Pausanias 5.14.9).

Hermes and Dreams

The Homeric Hymn calls the newborn Hermes a “leader of dreams” and a watcher by night (Hymn 4 to Hermes 14–15). His wand puts mortals to sleep and wakes them (Odyssey 5.47–48). In the Odyssey the Phaeacians pour their last libation of the evening to Hermes, when they think of going to bed (Odyssey 7.136–138).

Facts About Hermes

The essential facts about Hermes can be stated briefly:

• He is a son of Zeus and Maia, born in a cave on Mount Cyllene (Hymn 4 to Hermes 1–19)
• He invented the lyre on the day he was born, using a tortoise shell and seven strings of sheep-gut (Hymn 4 to Hermes 47–51)
• He stole fifty of Apollo’s cattle on the same day, and was forgiven in exchange for the lyre (Hymn 4 to Hermes 73–74, 507–510)
• His staff is a golden wand, which in later art and in Hyginus is a rod with two serpents twined around it (Odyssey 5.47–48; Hyginus, Astronomica 2.7)
• His oldest emblem was the roadside herm; the ram and the tortoise are linked to him by Pausanias and the Hymn (Pausanias 9.22.1; Hymn 4 to Hermes 24–51)
• He guides souls to the Underworld and goes down to Hades on Zeus’ errands (Odyssey 24.1–14; Hymn to Demeter 334–340)
• His Roman name is Mercury
• The word hermaphrodite comes from the name of his son Hermaphroditus, and hermeneutics from the Greek word for interpreter, hermeneus

Unraveling Hermes: The God Who Crossed Every Border

Hermes holds a strange position among the Olympians. He is not the strongest, the wisest, or the most feared, and no great war or catastrophe turns on his decisions. Yet he appears in more myths than almost any other god, because nearly every story needs someone to carry a message, open a door, or lead a traveller from one place to the next.

That role explains the breadth of his domains. Roads, trade, theft, speech, and death look unrelated until they are seen as the same act: crossing a line that separates one place, person, or state from another. The merchant crosses between owners, the herald between enemies, the thief between what is his and what is not, and the guide of souls between the living and the dead.

It also explains why the Greeks liked him. A god of boundaries could easily have been frightening, but Hermes is generous with mortals, quick to help heroes, and forgiven even when he lies to Zeus. His first day set the pattern: theft, music, negotiation, and a friendship gained instead of a punishment earned.

Hermes Sources

The 4^th Homeric Hymn is dedicated solely to Hermes and retells his childhood at length. Hermes also appears in Homer, Iliad 5.385–391, 16.179–186, 21.497–501, 24.333–467; Odyssey 1.37–43, 5.28–148, 7.136–138, 10.275–308, 19.394–412, 24.1–14; Hesiod, Works and Days 77–85; Homeric Hymn 19 to Pan; Homeric Hymn to Demeter 334–385; Pindar, Olympian 6; Plato, Cratylus 407e–408b; Herodotus 2.51; Thucydides 6.27; Apollodorus, Library 1.6.2–3, 1.9.1, 2.1.3, 2.4.3, 2.4.11, 2.5.8, 2.6.3, 3.4.3, 3.10.1–2, 3.14.3 and Epitome 2.6, 3.2; Pausanias 5.14.9, 9.22.1; Virgil, Aeneid 4.222–278; Ovid, Metamorphoses 1.668–723, 4.288–292, 11.301–317; Hyginus, Astronomica 2.7.

See Also: Zeus, Mount Olympus, Apollo, Pandora, Maia, Argus, Aphrodite, Odysseus