HERMES (Ἐρμῆτα). — Greek god, whose name has been derived from the heaps of stones (ἔρμα) that were sacred to him, though others consider him pre-Hellenic and originally from Arcadia.
As to his original nature, he has been regarded as god of motion, of light, of mists and clouds, of dew, of twilight, of the air and winds, an ethnic god, a masculine deity of the moon, and god of heaps of stones. In Homer, HERMES already possesses almost all his characteristic functions; this shows his antiquity: he is the messenger of Zeus and the gods, and as such wields the wand (κυρύζειον, caduceus) to which in ancient times magical power was attributed (in the Homeric hymn it confers wealth = prosperity), and the wide-brimmed petasos; he is god of eloquence and of 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, inventor of letters, mathematics, astronomy, and writing. He was also a pastoral god, a multiplier of flocks, a trickster, a protector of thieves, a guardian of travelers and hunters. Road markers and heaps of stones by the wayside, to which passers-by added a new stone, were sacred to him. In Homer he is not winged, 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. CHRONIOS, MENNYTIA). His attributes as god of the market-place and of gymnasia = palaestras are late. Public festivals and temples = cults are scarce, except in Arcadia where his birth was located on Mount Cyllene, though he was very popular and enjoyed an extensive private cult.