Hermes (called Mercury in Roman mythology) was considered the messenger of the Olympian gods. According to the myths of Hermes, this god was the son of Zeus, king of Mount Olympus, and Maia, a nymph. Over time, he also became associated with luck, shepherds, athletes, thieves, and merchants.
Often depicted as swift and youthful, in the myths of Hermes, this god was believed to be responsible for guiding the souls of the dead to the underworld. The name “Hermes” literally means “boundary marker.” In fact, in ancient Athens and according to the mythology of the god Hermes, many boundary markers (usually just piles of stones) were decorated with a bust of Hermes.
In the tales of the myths of Hermes, he was identified with gymnastics, and his image was usually found at the entrance to gymnasiums. This god was also the patron of invention, art, literature, commerce, and travel. In many myths about Hermes, he was a cunning trickster who used his intellect to outwit the other gods. Some myths about Hermes claim that he was the father of the satyrs, who were half goat and half human.
This god appears in countless stories in Greek mythology as a figure of great importance among heroes and gods. Here we will show you three of the most famous myths about Hermes in Greek mythology.
1. Myths of Hermes: Baucis and Philemon
The first of our myths about Hermes tells the story of Baucis and Philemon, two humble peasants who pleased the Greek gods with their generosity. The story begins with Zeus and Hermes arriving one day disguised as ordinary peasants and asking the townspeople for a place to sleep that night.
They had been rejected by everyone, “so wicked were the inhabitants of that land,” when they finally came to the simple rustic hut of Baucis and Philemon. Although the couple was poor, their generosity far exceeded that of their wealthy neighbors, among whom the gods found “closed doors and no word of kindness.”
After serving the two guests food and wine (which Ovid describes with relish in detail), Baucis noticed that although she had refilled her guest’s beechwood cups many times, the jug was still full (from which the phrase “Hermes’ jug” derives).
Realizing that their guests were gods, she and her husband “raised their hands in supplication and begged for leniency for their simple home and food.” Philemon thought of catching and killing the goose that guarded their house and turning it into a meal, but when he went to do so, it ran to safety in Zeus’ lap.
Zeus said that they did not need to kill the goose and that they should leave the city. This was because he was going to destroy the city and all those who rejected them and did not offer them proper hospitality.
After climbing to the summit (“as far as an arrow could be shot in one stroke”), Baucis and Philemon looked back at their city and saw that it had been destroyed by a flood and that Zeus had turned their hut into an ornate temple.
The couple’s wish to be guardians of the temple was granted. They also asked that when the time came for one of them to die, the other would also die. After their death, the couple became a pair of intertwined trees, an oak and a linden, standing in the deserted marshy ground.
2. Myths of Hermes: Hermaphroditus and Salmacis
The second of the myths of the god Hermes tells the story of the offspring of this Olympian god. As a result of an affair between Hermes and Aphrodite, a son was born, named Hermaphroditus, whose name and beauty came from his parents. The most famous version of the myths of Hermes comes from Ovid, who not only gives an etiology for the hermaphrodite, but also explains why the spring Salmacias were believed to enervate those who bathed in them.
Hermaphroditus was raised in a mountain cave by nymphs, and when he was fifteen years old, he left home to wander through unknown lands. When he arrived at Halicarnassus, on the coast of Asia Minor, he discovered a beautiful pool of clear water surrounded by fresh green grass. A nymph named Salmacis lived in the pool.
She refused to hunt in the forest and follow Artemis’ pursuits, but instead remained in her pool, often languishing seductively on its green banks. Once, while gathering flowers nearby, she saw the divinely beautiful Hermaphroditus and fell in love and had an irresistible desire to have him.
She carefully made herself as attractive as possible before approaching him with a fervent declaration of love that insisted it must be consummated. The boy blushed because he did not know what love was, and when she touched his beautiful neck and demanded that he at least give her one of his kisses, he threatened to leave. Salmacis, fearful of losing him, said that she would give him free access to the place and pretended to leave him alone. Instead, she hid behind a nearby bush to watch him.
Hermaphroditus, captivated by the pool, took off his clothes, and Salmacis was overwhelmed at the sight of his naked body. He dived into the water, and Salmacis, inflamed with passion, quickly threw herself after him. She grabbed him and hugged him, enveloping him with kisses while Hermaphroditus struggled to free himself.
Salmacis clung to Hermaphroditus with her whole body, and it was as if they were one, the nymph crying out to the gods to make them one again. The gods granted her prayer that they would never be separated. Their two bodies were joined, and they were no longer boys or girls, but shared both sexes.
The parents of Hermaphroditus, now hermaphroditic, granted their prayer that any man who bathed in this pond would emerge with weakened and softened limbs and only half a man.
3. Myths of Hermes: the cattle thief
The third and most famous of the myths of Hermes tells of his birth and the cunning he displayed when he was only a few days old. The story begins with Zeus and Maia. Zeus fell in love with the beautiful nymph Maia in a luxurious cave, and she gave birth to the god Hermes. This precocious baby was born at dawn. By noon he was playing the lyre, and by nightfall he had stolen Apollo’s cattle.
Hermes invents the lyre. As soon as Hermes left the cave where he was born, he came across a turtle and quickly devised a plan. He grabbed and cut the turtle and used the hollow shell, along with reeds, ox hide, and sheep gut strings, to make the first seven-stringed lyre. In no time, he tuned the lyre and was singing beautiful songs in honor of his father and mother.
Act I: The Theft of the Cattle
Soon, Hermes turned his attention to other activities; he craved meat and devised a plan to steal Apollo’s cattle. At night, he separated himself from the herd of fifty head and skillfully made them walk backward, with their heads toward him, while he himself walked in a straight line, wearing sandals of wicker that he had woven to disguise his footprints.
When an old man working in a lush vineyard noticed Hermes herding the cattle, the infant god told him not to say anything, promising him a good grape harvest and plenty of wine.
Act II: Hermes makes the sacrifice.
At dawn, Hermes fed the cows well and found shelter for them. Then he gathered some wood and was the first to use dry sticks and, by friction, lit a fire. He skinned and quartered two of the cattle (even though he was a baby) and divided the rich parts of the meat into twelve portions, which he roasted as offerings to the gods.
Following the ritual of sacrifice, he, as one of the gods, could not eat any of the meat but only savor the aroma. After destroying all evidence of what he had done, he returned home to his mother.
Hermes reassures Maia. Hermes climbed into her cradle and acted like a helpless baby, but his mother, Maia, was not fooled by his display of helplessness and rebuked him, knowing that he had done nothing good.
Act III: Apollo tracks down Hermes.
Apollo, anxious over the loss of his cattle (which, he explained, were all cows), asked the old man who tended the vineyard, and the old man told him that he had seen a boy driving a herd backward. The sign of an eagle with outstretched wings told Apollo that the thief was the son of Zeus, and when he saw that the cattle’s tracks turned backward and the thief’s tracks were cleverly hidden, the ingenuity of the theft led him to the cave of Maia and Hermes.
Act IV: Apollo confronts Hermes.
Enraged, Apollo confronted Hermes, who sank into his cloaks with a look of childlike innocence that failed to deceive Apollo. After a search of the surrounding area, he urgently asked the boy about his stolen cattle.
Hermes claimed he knew nothing; having been born yesterday, it was impossible for him to have committed such a crime. Apollo, however, was not fooled, knowing Hermes for the cunning trickster he was. Their argument ended only when Apollo took Hermes to the top of Mount Olympus, where he sought justice from Zeus himself.
Act V: Zeus decides the case.
Apollo spoke first and sincerely declared the facts about the theft of his cattle. Hermes’ response was full of lies, and he even made a strong oath that he was absolutely innocent. Zeus laughed when he heard the protests and denials of the devious child and ordered Hermes, in his role as guide, to take Apollo to the place where he had hidden the cattle.
Act VI: The reconciliation between Hermes and Apollo.
Hermes did as Zeus commanded, and when Apollo found his cattle, the two were reconciled. Hermes took the lyre he had invented and played and sang so beautifully that Apollo was captivated and exclaimed that this enchanting skill was worth fifty cows. He promised that Hermes would become the messenger of the gods and that he and his mother would be famous among the immortals (and thus Hermes’ promise to his mother was fulfilled).
Upon this, Hermes gave the lyre to Apollo, ordering him to become a master of the art of music, and Apollo in turn gave Hermes a shining whip and put him in charge of the herds of cattle. And so the two returned to Olympus, where Zeus united them in friendship.
