Hermes

Hermes
As a newborn, you are completely helpless, but as a newborn god? You are as fit and able as a 20 year old! Hermes (a.k.a. Mercury) son of Zeus and Maia, a mountain nymph, was only a few hours old when he walked out of his cradle while his mother was sleeping and took a walk over to Pieiria where Apollo lived. He then proceeded to carry off Apollo's oxen, cook them, and eat them! On his way back home he found a tortoise. Hermes took its shell and attached strings made of the oxen's guts thus inventing the instrument called the lyre. The he sacrificed the remains of the animals to 12 different gods making him the inventor of worship (Theoi.com). Hermes went back to his home and climbed back into his cradle. Apollo was furious and went to see Maia and accuse Hermes of thievery. Maia was completely taken aback, showing Apollo the sleeping baby. Hermes would've gotten away with his crime, but the tortoiseshell lyre strung with the cattle's intestines gave him away (Atsma). Hermes started out cunning and smart, and he continues to be just that throughout his life. 

Hermes was the god of many things such as travel, hospitality, diplomacy, trade, thievery, language, skill, writing, persuasion, athletic contest, and even astronomy. He supposedly invented numbers, the alphabet, astrology, music, fire, and gymnastics. Because of his brightness and eloquence, he was employed as a messenger from the gods (specifically to Zeus, his father) to the humans. Although he was known for being a thief, he stole and committed fraud with "a certain skill, dexterity, and even gracefulness" making him a trusty messenger. Some of his tasks included rescuing Dionysus after his birth from the flames, convincing Calypso and Circe to let Ulysses go home, and rescue Zeus' lover that had been transformed into a cow (Theoi.com). He also served as a phsycopomp, or someone who helped the dead into the afterlife (Wikipedia.com).

Due to his employment as a messenger- traveling, delivering messages, making treaties, etc.- he was seen as someone who supports social functions and commerce and that he was kind and friendly towards man (Atsma). People dubbed him the maintainer of peace, the god of the roads, and someone who punished people that did not help lost travelers, so he was worshiped with statues of him on roadways and gates and before any citizens left for a trip they would prepare a sacrifice in Hermes' name in hopes of a safe journey (Theoi.com).

In sculptures, paintings, and other forms of art that demonstrate Hermes, he is shown to be either young, handsome, and athletic or an old bearded man (Theoi.com). The three most common items that are associated with Hermes are his hat, his staff, and his winged sandals. The hat had a broad brim that was later depicted to have wings on either side. His staff assures a messenger a safe journey especially during war (Cotterell). Said staff had ribbons intertwined up the length of the staff but later images showed the ribbons to be snakes. The sandals were gold with wings on either side, allowing him to fly between the mortal and immortal world (Wikipedia.com). There were a lot of quests that Hermes had to go through. One day when there was a wedding of a god and a sea nymph, one god named Eris was not invited because of her bad temper. She found out about the wedding and was so upset she crashed the wedding and threw a golden apple on the floor and fled (Aldhous). The golden apple was inscribed with the words “For the Fairest” and every single one of the goddesses at the party instantly wanted the apple. So a contest was held until only three goddesses remained. Nobody wanted to be the judge because the two that may be eliminated would no doubt be enraged. Hermes’ father Zeus elected Paris to be the final judge and Hermes was sent off to pick up Paris (Aldhous). In the Iliad, Hermes helps Odysseus and his men escape Circe’s island. Circe had turned Odysseus’ men into pigs and without the men, they could not leave. As Odysseus was running through a forest, Hermes appeared and let him know how to make Circe’s potion useless on him (Aldhous). Hermes gave him a flower called moly and when Circe tried to turn Odysseus into a pig, the spell was unsuccessful and Circe granted Odysseus freedom and his men transformed. Hermes had a love for the goddess of love Aphrodite and they had two “sons”. The reason sons is in quotations is because the two boys had a strange sexuality. Their first son, Hermaphroditos was- you guessed it- a hermaphrodite, and their second son Priapus had the resemblance to that of a gnome (Cotterell). Handsome, clever, and swift, a famous hero and messenger of the gods, Hermes no doubt had a good life. In my opinion he was very important to the immortal world; he saved other gods and goddesses, helped weary travelers, and guided souls to Hades. Organization was very important in the world of gods and almost everything Hermes was in charge of helped with that. I believe Hermes was a great god, if not the very best.


 * __Works Cited __**

Priority Digital. "Greek God Hermes." //Greek Gods and Goddesses//. PriorityDigital.com, 2009. Web. 07 Dec. 2011.

Atsma, Aaron J. "HERMES: Greek God of Herds, Trade & Athletics, Herald of the Gods | Mythology, W/ Pictures | Roman Mercury." //THEOI GREEK MYTHOLOGY, Exploring Mythology & the Greek Gods in Classical Literature & Art//. Theoi Project, 2000. Web. 07 Dec. 2011

"Hermes." //Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia//. Wikipedia, 5 Dec. 2011. Web. 07 Dec. 2011.

Aldhous, Peter. "Persona Genomic Tests Prompt Lifestyle Changes." //NewScientist Health //<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">. 5 Nov. 2010. Web. 9 Dec. 2011.

<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Cotterell, Arthur, and Rachel Storm. "Hermes." //<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Mythology: an A - Z Guide to the Myths and Legends of the Ancient World //<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">. London: Hermes House, 2002. 50-51. Print