Hermes
Publié le 17/01/2022
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Greek The winged messenger of the
Greek gods; son of Zeus and Maia (1). Hermes is also
associated with fertility, and is god of flocks, roads,
trading, and thieves. Hermes was the inventor of the
lyre and the guide of souls on the way to Hades. He
was the father of many, including Autolycus, Daphnis,
and Hermaphroditus. In Roman mythology, he
is known as Mercury.
Archaic artists portrayed Hermes as a bearded man
wearing a broad-brimmed hat and winged sandals,
and carrying a herald's staff. From the fifth century
b.c. on, artisans showed him as a nude and beardless
young man, typical of an accomplished athlete.
The earliest center of Hermes' cult was Arcadia,
where he was worshiped as a god of fertility with
phallic images called hermae (hermai). These were
heaps of stones set up by the ancient Greeks to mark
boundaries or distances along roads. With the development
of artistic taste, in the fifth century b.c. these
crude piles became pillars crowned with the head of
Hermes. In cities the hermae were erected at street
corners and at the doors of houses.
The Childhood of Hermes Hermes, son of
Zeus and Maia, was born in a cave in Mount Cyllene,
in Arcadia. He grew miraculously fast, and soon after
his birth he was able to walk out of the cave, kill a
tortoise, and make the first lyre from its shell.
To complete the lyre, Hermes needed strings. He
stole a herd of cows belonging to Apollo by making
them walk backward so that their tracks would lead
Apollo in the wrong direction. He killed the cows and
made strings for the lyre from their guts.
When Apollo finally discovered the thief (now
back in his cradle), he brought Hermes before his
father, Zeus. Zeus was more amused than angry at his
infant son, and when Hermes produced the lyre and
played it, even Apollo was charmed and offered the
rest of his flock to Hermes in return for it.
Apollo also gave Hermes his Caduceus, a herald's
staff of gold. Hades instructed Hermes to lay the
golden staff on the eyes of the dying and lead them
gently to the realm of the dead.
Some accounts say that Apollo taught Hermes
how to prophesy, Artemis taught him to hunt,
and Pan taught him to play the pipes. Hermes was
undoubtedly a favorite with the gods.
Liens utiles
- Myrtilus Greek Son of the god Hermes and a mortal woman.
- Silenus (Selini) Greek Son of Hermes or of Pan; tutor of Dionysus.
- Hermes - Mythology.
- MICHEL SERRES : HERMES (Résumé & Analyse)
- HERMES