Ἑρμῆς
Hermes赫尔墨斯
Roman name Mercury
Messenger of the gods · Patron of travellers, traders and thieves
MessagesTravelTradeTheftGuide of souls
Meet Hermes in the 3D temple ›Origins
Son of Zeus and the mountain nymph Maia, born in a cave on Mount Cyllene in Arcadia. Born at dawn, he had climbed out of his cradle by noon and made the first lyre from a tortoise shell; by evening he had stolen fifty of Apollo's cattle.
Sacred symbols
CaduceusWinged sandalsWinged capTortoise
Myths
Slayer of Argus
To free Io from her cow's shape he played his reed pipe and told long, dull stories until all hundred of the giant's eyes had closed — then cut off his head.
Guide of souls
He alone passes freely between heaven, earth and the underworld, leading the dead to the bank of the Styx. When Orpheus could not help looking back, it was Hermes who led Eurydice down again.
The heroes' quartermaster
When a hero is out of options it is usually Hermes who arrives with what he needs: the sword for Perseus, and for Odysseus the herb moly that broke the witch Circe's spell.
Did you know
Mercury, the fastest planet around the Sun, carries the Roman name of the swift messenger — and so does quicksilver.
Relationships with the other gods
AllianceZeus
His most useful messenger
When the cattle theft came before Zeus, the baby in swaddling clothes lied so brazenly that Zeus burst out laughing. From then on Hermes was his herald and right hand: he killed Argus to free Io, carried the infant Dionysus to safety, and went with him in disguise to test the hearts of mortals.
AllianceApollo
The cattle thief and the lyre
On the day he was born Hermes stole fifty of Apollo's cattle, driving them backwards to confuse the trail. Apollo hauled him before Zeus — and Hermes began to play the lyre he had just made from a tortoise shell. Apollo was so enchanted he traded the whole herd for it. A lawsuit turned into the closest friendship on Olympus.
DesireAphrodite
A joke beside the net
Looking at the pair in the net, Apollo teased Hermes: would he be willing to lie there beside her, tied up like that? Hermes said he would, with three times the chains and every god watching. In time he got his wish, and their child was named Hermaphroditus — both parents' names in one.
AllianceDionysus
Entrusted in swaddling clothes
When the infant Dionysus was delivered from Zeus's thigh, it was Hermes who carried him from one hiding place to another to keep him from Hera, and finally gave him to the nymphs of Mount Nysa to raise. The famous Greek statue "Hermes and the Infant Dionysus" shows exactly this.
AllianceAres
Rescue from the bronze jar
Ares lay in the giants' bronze jar for thirteen months and was nearly dead when their stepmother let the secret slip. Hermes, with a thief's skill, slipped in and stole him out — the god best at fighting, saved by the god best at stealing.