Hermes

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Hermes

• Messenger God
• God of Boundaries

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Atlas, who wears on back of bronze the ancient
Abode of the gods in heaven, had a daughter
Whose name was Maia, born of a goddessShe lay
with Zeus, and bore me, Hermes,Servant of the
immortals.
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Hermes is a trickster on his first day born, he
steals Apollos cattle, then creates the lyre.
He associates with mortals and immortals. On
occasion he gives help or profit to a few, but
for the most part he continually deceives humans
by the horde in the darkness of night. Homeric
Hymn to Hermes
Hermes on a childs bowl
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• In the Olympian family, Hermes is a youthful god,
  junior to Apollo.
• Characteristic of his iconography
• beardless
• broad-brimmed hat and traveling cloak
• cadeuceus
• talaria (not seen here)
• Roman name Mercury

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His traveling clothes show him in his role as the
messenger of the gods. Here he fastens on the
talaria, a special symbol of that role. His dress
as a traveler also shows that he is a liminal
figure. Journeys are potentially dangerous
Hermes is a symbol of the dangers but also a
source of comfort to the traveler.
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Etruscan god Usil
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• God of merchants.
• God of thieves.
• God of flocks (esp. sheep and goats) in Hesiod.
• Associated with the education of young men.
• Known as Hermes Psychopompos, he leads the souls
  of the dead down into the underworld.
• Hermes oversees all kinds of transitions between
  our world and that other world, as well as all
  kinds of complex human interactions.

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Hermes shows up in many vital interactions
between humans and gods. Here he oversees Zeus
giving birth to Dionysus.
Here he brings the infant Dionysus to Silenus to
raise
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Here he oversees the punishment of Ixion, who
tried to rape Hera
Here he visits a hero (Odysseus) to bring him a
welcome message from the gods
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He brings the goddesses to Paris in the contest
that starts the Trojan war
Here you can just glimpse him as a soul passes
over to the underworld.
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While a lot of Classical art focuses on Hermes as
an attractive youth, Hermes commonly appeared in
other guises. Herms were a common feature of
Greek houses, in the mailbox position, to serve
an apotropaic function and invite in good luck.
Here a sculptor carves a Herm.
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Heres a herm. All gods could be carved in this
pillar fashion, but Hermes was the most
common Notice Hermes is portrayed as a mature
man. There is no real consistency about his
characteristic age in portrayals. Here he differs
from Artemis, Apollo, Athena, Ares, Aphrodite,
and Hephaestus.
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City Savior
In Tanagra, Hermes saved the city from a plague
by carrying a ram around the city on his
shoulders. The ritual is repeated yearly by a
handsome young man carrying a lamb.
Hermes was also a battle savior at Tanagra he
led the young men into battle and fought with a
strigil.
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In Ephesus, Hermes appears with the cadeuceus and
a ram (for sacrifice?)
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In the Roman world, Mercury became more important
as a god of trade, since trade and wage-earning
were becoming more central to the economy.
Roman Mercury
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So hail to you, son of Zeus and Maia . . . guide
and giver of grace and other things.
finis
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Hermes and Artemis are both liminal deities.
Artemis in the wild, Hermes on the road. What
are the similarities and differences between the
wild and the road as liminal territories?
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• What makes virginity a powerful state/idea?
  Consider (some or all)
• Athena
• Artemis
• Hestia
• A Greek girl before marriage
• A woman in our culture
• other cultures you are familiar with