Hermes
god of art, commerce, eloquence,
fertility, games, herdsmen, luck,
markets, roads, thieves,
travellers, wisdom
herald and messenger of the
gods,
one of the Olympians
son of Zeus by Maia
Hera, as usual, was jealous of her husband’s affair with Maia so Hermes disguised himself as the infant Ares and deceived Hera into suckling him, after which she felt obliged to regard him as her own son.
As an infant he stole some of Apollo’s cattle and gave him the lyre, which he had invented when less than one day old, to earn his forgiveness.
The peasant Bottus had told Apollo who had taken the cattle and Hermes
turned him to stone.
When he was appointed official herald to the gods, Zeus gave him his winged sandals, his hat and his staff.
Others say that Apollo gave him the staff when Hermes gave the god the lyre and they became friends.
He was also appointed by Hades to summon the dead and conduct their souls to Tartarus, as Psychopompus. He had many children, among them Daphnis, Echion and, in some stories, Pan. He was also the father of Hermaphroditus by Aphrodite.
He saved the infant Dionysus when his mother was killed by Zeus and planted him in the father’s thigh until full term.
He is credited with the invention of fire, the lyre from the shell of a tortoise, the shepherd’s pipe, astronomy, musical scales, measures, etc.
He brought Protesilaus back from Hades to see his wife who, refusing to give him up, went back to Hades with him.
He killed the Giant Hippolytus during the battle between the Giants and the gods and restored to Zeus the sinews cut out by the monster Typhon.
He rescued Io (in the form of a cow) from imprisonment under the eyes of Argus, killing Argus and cutting off his head. Hera, who had ordered the detention of Io, placed the 100 eyes of Argus in the peacock’s tail.
He gave Perseus the sickle with which he beheaded Medusa.
He is depicted as wearing the winged hat and sandals and carrying his staff, the caduceus, with wings and entwined serpents.
Daphnis
A shepherd of Sicily,
son of Hermes by a nymph,
half-brother of Pan.
In some accounts Hermes was his
lover rather than his father. He is credited with the invention of bucolic verse.
Aphrodite caused him to fall in love with the water nymph Nais, to whom he promised always to be faithful. When he proved unfaithful by preferring Xenia, a mortal lover, Nais blinded him.
He later drowned and the water nymphs refused to go to his aid. Hermes then took him up to heaven.
In another version he resisted all Aphrodite’s attempts to make him unfaithful and died rather than give way to her tempting. Others say that he died of longing for Xenia.
In another account, he loved Pimplea (or Thalia) who was abducted by pirates. When Daphnis found her, a slave at the court of Lityerses in Phrygia, he was challenged to a reaping contest by the king. Heracles took the place of Daphnis, won the contest, killed Lityerses and made Daphnis, who married Pimplea, king of Phrygia.
Echion
Son of Hermes and Antianeira,
twin brother of Erytus.
He and his brother were members of the party hunting the Calydonian Boar and he sailed with the Argonauts as a herald.
Pan
god of flocks, shepherds, woods,
half-brother of Daphnis,
father of Iambe and Iynx by Echo
and of Crotus by Eupheme,
father of Priapus by Aprhrodite and
of Acis by Symaethis.
He was part man, part goat, with
horns, hoofs and tail.
His parentage is not at all certain; he may be the son of Cronus by Rhea, Zeus by Hybris, or Hermes by Calypso, Dryope, Oeneis or Penelope and either the father or brother of Silenus.
It is even suggested that he was the son of Hermes by Penelope, the wife of Odysseus.
It is said that when he pursued the nymph Syrinx, she was turned into a clump of reeds by Gaea. From seven of these reeds, Pan fashioned the reedpipe,
with which he is traditionally depicted.
He seduced a number of
nymphs and goddesses including Echo, Eupheme and Selene.
He gave Artemis three hunting dogs and seven hounds and helped Hermes restore the sinews of Zeus cut out by the monster Typhon.
He was the only god to die. He is also depicted with a crook.
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I realized this chapter was pretty short so I added these three children of Hermes to make the chapter a bit longer.
Sorry to say but this is my last chapter. If there's a God you think I left out you can draw my attention to it. I'm writing another story on Greek heroes and creatures and the title is; Greek Heroes and Creatures
Thank you for your support, it really kept me going.
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Love y'all 😘😘😘
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