Hermes (Ἑρμῆς)

HERMES (Ἐρμῆς). - A Greek god whose name has been derived from the heaps of stones (ἐρμῶ) that were sacred to him, though others consider it pre-Hellenic and originally Arcadian.

As to his original nature he has been regarded as a god of motion, of light, of mists and clouds, of dew, of twilight, of the air and winds, an underworld god, a male deity of the moon, and a god of heaps of stones. In Homer, Hermes already possesses almost all his characteristic functions, which shows his antiquity: he is the messenger of Zeus and the gods, and as such he carries the wand (περίσκετο, caduceus) to which magical power was once attributed (in the Homeric hymn it confers wealth and prosperity), and the broad-brimmed petasos; he is a god of eloquence and inventions (the lyre, the pan-pipes, the flute, the discovery of fire); in later times, when he was identified with the Egyptian god Thoth, he became a musician, the inventor of letters, mathematics, astronomy, and writing. He was also a pastoral god, a multiplier of flocks, a deceiver, a thief, and the protector of thieves; a patron of travelers and hunters. Roadside markers and heaps of stones by the wayside, to which passers-by added a new stone, were sacred to him. In Homer he does not walk but hovers through the air; later he has wings on his feet, shoulders, or caduceus. He guides the souls of the dead to the Underworld (v. psychopompos, DIVINITIES). His attributes as god of commerce and of the gymnasia and wrestling schools are late. There were few festivals, temples, or public cults, except in Arcadia where his birth was localized on Mount Cyllene, but he enjoyed great popularity and an extensive private cult.