post #309155

Hermes is the ancient Greek God of Messaging, Merchants, Mischief, Medicine, Movement, Money, Athletes, and Thieves. He is the son of Zeus, God of the Sky and Maia, One of the 7 Pleiades and companion of Artemis.

Zeus raped Maia in the dead of night and she became pregnant with Hermes and gave birth to him at an anomalously high speed. On the first day of Hermes' life he snuck out of his cradle and into the world where he stole the entire herd sacred cattle of his older half-brother Apollo. On his way home he finds and kills a tortoise, converting its shell into the first Lyre. He then cooks and eats some of the cows and sacrifices the rest of them to the Olympians. When Apollo tracks down his half-brother, the latter impresses him with the playing of the lyre and offers it to Apollo in exchange for the cows and to be honored as an actual Olympian. Apollo gives Hermes his sacred treasures: A satchel which can store an infinite amount of material, a pair of magic helmet, a pair of winged sandals which he can use to fly and run incredibly fast, and the caduceus, a rod with feathers and two snakes coiled around it.

Hermes consorts include Aphrodite, Goddess of Love; Karmentis, A Naiad; Okyrrhoe, another Naiad; Penelope, An Arcadian Nymph; Rhene, an Island Nymph; Sose; Another Arcadian Nymph;

His children include: Hermaphroditus, God of Hermaphrodites; Pan, God of the Wilderness; Angelia, Embodiment of Proclamations and Messages; Palestra, Goddess of Wrestling; and the hunter Orion.

As the resident Trickster God, most myths involving Hermes involve him using his wits, trickery, and theft to accomplish his goals. He slayed the many eyed monster Argus by lulling him to sleep with a the tale of the history of the world and then stole the princess Io in the form of a cow. He rescued Ares the God of War from Ephialtes and Otis by convincing Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt to seduce them and trick them into killing each other. He stole the ligaments and tendons of Zeus from the monster Typhon and returned them to his father to help revive him. He contributed to the creation of the first woman Pandora and taught her not just human speech but also how to lie.

He also frequently delivers magical tools and boons to various heroes in order to aid them in their quests at the behest of other gods.

Out of all the ancient Greek Gods, symbols of Hermes appear most frequently in modern iconography. Goodyear, Hermes, Bugatti, the element Mercury, Most American Hospitals, and the original design of DC Comic's The Flash.

In ancient Roman Mythology, he is known as Mercury.