One of the gods of the Greek pantheon who stars in numerous myths is Hermes, the messenger god, son of Zeus and the Pleiad Maya. This god was protector of roads, doors, travelers and merchants, which made him also end up being associated with money. In fact, in Rome he was known as Mercury, the name from which the word “market” is derived, in a clear allusion to the trade and money of which he was protector. However, in Greece, Hermes was known especially because he was the messenger of the gods, that is, the one in charge of carrying out errands on Mount Olympus and outside it when other gods ordered him to do so. In this way, the myths of Hermes are almost as numerous as the gods themselves that make up the Greek pantheon.
5 myths of Hermes, the messenger of the gods
1. The myth of Philemon and Baucis
One of the myths of Hermes tells how he and his father, Zeus, on one occasion when they had descended to earth, arrived at the Tiana city in the middle of a terrible storm. Since they could not show themselves in their divine form, they adopted the image of two beggars, and asked for asylum in all the houses of the city, where they received refusal after refusal. Finally, when they arrived at the house of Philemon and his wife Baucis, this couple did give them shelter and served them wine and food.
As they left, the gods revealed their true identity and warned the couple that they had to leave the city, as they would be the only ones who would be saved because Zeus was going to destroy it in response to the refusal of its inhabitants when they should have given them shelter.
2. Messenger of the gods between the worlds
Another of the Hermes myths in which the god plays an important role is when he negotiates with Hades. Hades had kidnapped Demeter’s daughter, Persephone, to make her his wife. Demeter, goddess of fertility and agriculture, made the earth sad and stopped bearing fruit and was plunged into an eternal winter. Zeus, faced with this situation, sent the messenger of the gods to negotiate with Hades, god of the underworld, to return Persephone to her mother and thus end the eternal winter.
However, Hades did not give in, but Hermes convinced him to make a deal that would benefit both parties.. In this way, Persephone would spend six months a year in the underworld with Hades, and another six on earth with her mother. Thus, when Persephone was with Hades, autumn and winter occurred, while when she was with Demeter both spring and summer occurred.
Discover the story of this kidnapping in greater depth in: The Abduction of Proserpina or Persephone by Hades or Pluto.
3. The offspring of Hermes
Although the messenger of the gods had several descendants, the most famous of them was undoubtedly hermaphrodite, whose name refers to his parents: Hermes and Aphrodite. Mythology says that Hermaphroditus was born a man. However, her mother, feeling guilty for the adultery she had committed (her husband was Ares and not Hermes), abandoned the child on Mount Ida, where he was raised by the nymphs. When Hermaphroditus grew up, he became a young man of great beauty and, one morning when he was swimming naked in the waters of a lake, the Naiad Salmacis, who was the protective spirit of the lake, approached him to possess him. However, the young man resisted, so Salmacis hugged him with all his strength and prayed to the gods that nothing could ever separate them. The gods heard his plea and merged their bodies into one.giving rise to a human being who had both sexes, male and female, making mythological reference to what would later be known as hermaphroditism.
Learn more about this story in: Hermaphroditism: the Greeks explained it with the myth of Hermaphroditus.
4. Guardian of dreams
Although Morpheus is the Greek god most associated with dreams, Hermes, as a messenger of the gods, also had a leading role in this task. According to Greek belief, dreams were created by Hypnos and Zeus himself. Subsequently, these dreams had to be brought to the minds of men, a task that fell into the hands of both Morpheus and Hermes. The difference between one and the other lay in the distribution of work.
In this way, Morpheus carried the dreams of priests, kings and great emperors; while Hermes dealt with the dreams of people who occupied a lower social statusfrom merchants and artisans, to soldiers or slaves.
5. Bearer of the caduceus
One of the myths of Hermes tells how this god obtained the caduceus, or staff associated with this Greek god, which together with the winged sandals and hat constitute his most common symbols. The caduceus was originally an olive wand that was adorned with two garlands, one on each side. Later, she is also represented with two snakes coiled symmetrically on each side. according to mythology The caduceus was a gift that the god Apollo gave to the messenger of the gods, who in turn was the one who gave the flute of Pan to the god of prophecy.. From that moment on, the caduceus would become the symbol of commerce and economic activity. On the other hand, we must take into account its great resemblance to the rod of Aesculapius (son of Apollo and protector of medicine), which is the one currently associated with pharmacies. However, despite their similarity, they are different symbols, so it is important not to confuse them despite their great similarity.
What did you think of these Hermes myths? Did you know this god from Greek mythology and his equivalent Mercury in Roman mythology? He is one of the most represented gods both in architecture and in sculpture and painting, so it will be very normal that you can see his image in official buildings, especially those that are related to some type of economic activity. The easiest way to identify it is through its symbols: the caduceus and the winged sandals and hat. So you know, when you look up and see a statue with these attributes, you can be sure that it represents this deity from the Greek pantheon.