For other uses, see Hermes (disambiguation).
| Hermes |
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Boundaries, roads and travelers, commerce, thieves, athletes, shepherds. Psychopomp and divine messenger.
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Hermes Ingenui (Vatican Museums), Roman copy of the 2nd century BC after a Greek original of the 5th century BC. Hermes wears kerykeion, kithara, petasus (round hat), traveler's cloak and winged temples.
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| Abode |
Mount Olympus |
| Symbol |
Talaria, caduceus, tortoise, lyre, rooster, Petasos (Winged helmet) |
| Personal information |
| Parents |
Zeus and Maia |
| Siblings |
Aeacus, Angelos, Aphrodite, Apollo, Ares, Artemis, Athena, Dionysus, Eileithyia, Enyo, Eris, Ersa, Hebe, Helen of Troy, Hephaestus, Heracles, Minos, Pandia, Persephone, Perseus, Rhadamanthus, the Graces, the Horae, the Litae, the Muses, the Moirai |
| Consort |
Merope, Aphrodite, Dryope, Peitho |
| Children |
Pan, Hermaphroditus, Abderus, Autolycus, Eudorus, Angelia, Myrtilus |
| Equivalents |
| Roman equivalent |
Mercury |
| Etruscan equivalent |
Turms |
| Egyptian equivalent |
Thoth, Anubis |
| Part of a series on |
| Ancient Greek religion |
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Hermes (; Greek: ?ρμ?ς) is a deity in Ancient Greek religion and mythology. Hermes is considered the god of boundaries, as well as the transgression of boundaries.
Hermes is believed to move freely between the worlds of the mortal and divine, and act as the psychopomp, or conductor of souls, into the afterlife.[1] He was also viewed as the protector and patron of roads and travelers,[2] as well as merchants, messengers, sailors, athletes, herdsmen, and thieves.[3]
In myth, Hermes was the emissary and messenger of the gods,[4] often considered the son of Zeus and the Pleiad Maia. Hermes was also described as "the divine trickster"[5]. His attributes and symbols include the herma, the rooster, the tortoise, satchel or pouch, winged sandals, and winged cap. His main symbol is the Greek kerykeion or Latin caduceus, which appears in a form of two snakes wrapped around a winged staff with carvings of the other gods.[6] Other symbols of Hermes included the palm tree, turtle, rooster, goat, the number four, several kinds of fish, and incense.[7]
In Latin, Hermes was known as Mercury,[8] and his attributes had previously influenced the earlier Etruscan god Turms, a name borrowed from the Greek "herma".[9]
Name and origin[edit]
The earliest form of the name Hermes is the Mycenaean Greek *hermahas,[10] written ?????? e-ma-a2 (e-ma-ha) in the Linear B syllabic script.[11] Most scholars derive "Hermes" from Greek ?ρμα herma,[12] "prop,[13] heap of stones, boundary marker", from which the word hermai ("boundary markers dedicated to Hermes as a god of travelers") also derives.[14]
The etymology of ?ρμα itself is unknown, but is probably not a Proto-Indo-European word.[10] R. S. P. Beekes rejects the connection with herma and suggests a Pre-Greek origin.[10] However, the stone etymology is also linked to Indo-European *ser- (“to bind, put together”). Scholarly speculation that "Hermes" derives from a more primitive form meaning "one cairn" is disputed.[15] Other scholars have suggested that Hermes may be a cognate of the Vedic Sarama.[16][17]
It is likely that Hermes is a pre-Hellenic god, though the exact origins of his worship, and its original nature, remain unclear. Frothingham thought the god to have existed as a Mesopotamian snake-god, similar or identical to Ningishzida, a god who served as mediator between humans and the divine, especially Ishtar, and who was depicted in art as a Caduceus.[18][19] Angelo (1997) thinks Hermes to be based on the Thoth archetype.[20] The absorbing ("combining") of the attributes of Hermes to Thoth developed after the time of Homer amongst Greeks and Romans; Herodotus was the first to identify the Greek god with the Egyptian (Hermopolis), Plutarch and Diodorus also, although Plato thought the gods to be dis-similar (Friedlander 1992).[21][22]
His cult was established in Greece in remote regions, likely making him originally a god of nature, farmers, and shepherds. It is also possible that since the beginning he has been a deity with shamanic attributes linked to divination, reconciliation, magic, sacrifices, and initiation and contact with other planes of existence, a role of mediator between the worlds of the visible and invisible.[23] According to a theory that has received considerable scholarly acceptance, Hermes originated as a form of the god Pan, who has been identified as a reflex of the Proto-Indo-European pastoral god *Péh2uson,[24][25] in his aspect as the god of boundary markers. Later, the epithet supplanted the original name itself and Hermes took over the roles as god of messengers, travelers, and boundaries, which had originally belonged to Pan, while Pan himself continued to be venerated by his original name in his more rustic aspect as the god of the wild in the relatively isolated mountainous region of Arcadia. In later myths, after the cult of Pan was reintroduced to Attica, Pan was said to be Hermes's son.[25][26]
Iconography[edit]
Archaic bearded Hermes from a herm, early 5th century BC.
Statue of Hermes wearing the
petasos, a voyager's cloak, the caduceus and a purse. Roman copy after a Greek original (Vatican Museums).
The image of Hermes evolved and varied along with Greek art and culture. In Archaic Greece he was usually depicted as a mature man, bearded, and dressed as a traveler, herald, or pastor. This image remained common on the Hermai, which served as boundary markers, roadside markers, and grave markers, as well as votive offerings.
In Classical and Hellenistic Greece, Hermes was usually depicted as a young, athletic man lacking a beard. When represented as Logios (Greek: Λ?γιος, speaker), his attitude is consistent with the attribute. Phidias left a statue of a famous Hermes Logios and Praxiteles another, also well known, showing him with the baby Dionysus in his arms.
At all times, however, through the Hellenistic periods, Roman, and throughout Western history into the present day, several of his characteristic objects are present as identification, but not always all together.[27][28] Among these objects is a wide-brimmed hat, the petasos, widely used by rural people of antiquity to protect themselves from the sun, and that in later times was adorned with a pair of small wings; sometimes this hat is not present, and may have been replaced with wings rising from the hair.
Another object is the caduceus, a staff with two intertwined snakes, sometimes crowned with a pair of wings and a sphere.[29] The caduceus, historically, appeared with Hermes, and is documented among the Babylonians from about 3500 BC. Two snakes coiled around a staff was also a symbol of the god Ningishzida, who, like Hermes, served as a mediator between humans and the divine (specifically, the goddess Ishtar or the supreme Ningirsu). In Greece, other gods have been depicted holding a caduceus, but it was mainly associated with Hermes. It was said to have the power to make people fall asleep or wake up, and also made peace between litigants, and is a visible sign of his authority, being used as a sceptre.[27] The caduceus is not to be confused with the Rod of Asclepius, the patron of medicine and son of Apollo, which bears only one snake. The rod of Asclepius was adopted by most Western doctors as a badge of their profession, but in several medical organizations of the United States, the caduceus took its place since the 18th century, although this use is declining. After the Renaissance the caduceus also appeared in the heraldic crests of several, and currently is a symbol of commerce.[27]
Hermes' sandals, called pédila by the Greeks and talaria by the Romans, were made of palm and myrtle branches but were described as beautiful, golden and immortal, made a sublime art, able to take the roads with the speed of wind. Originally, they had no wings, but late in the artistic representations, they are depicted. In certain images, the wings spring directly from the ankles. Hermes has also been depicted with a purse or a bag in his hands, wearing a robe or cloak, which had the power to confer invisibility. His weapon was a sword of gold, which killed Argos; lent to Perseus to kill Medusa.[27]
(1.)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermes
(2.)https://www.theoi.com/Olympios/Hermes.html