God Hermes: interesting facts

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:46

God Hermes in Greek mythology is considered the messenger of the gods. He is called the patron saint of travelers and the conductor of the souls of the dead. Hermes' father is Zeus, and his mother is the beautiful mountain nymph Maya. Hermes is usually depicted as a young man wearing a hat (the hat has curved edges), golden sandals (winged sandals) and a golden wand (the wand is magical, it is a gift from Apollo, it is decorated with two snakes).

It is believed that the divine will is expressed most often in a dream, so Hermes used his magic wand to send prophetic dreams to people.

God Hermes is the mediator between the world of the dead and the world of the living. He has resourcefulness and dexterity, and also has the gift to open any bonds imperceptibly. These qualities allow Hermes to be the patron of thieves and rogues, because it was not for nothing that the cunning Moses was his grandson.

In addition, it is believed that Hermes invented a very interesting musical instrument - the lyre. He was a joker, a merry fellow who loved practical jokes. It was he who, for a joke, stole the scepter from Zeus, the golden arrows with a bow from Apollo, and the trident from Poseidon. It is worth noting that he used them only when it came to something noble. Hermes will surpass anyone in cunning, cunning and ingenuity, not in vain with histhieves and cheaters consider him a patron.

As for people, they appreciated Hermes because he gave them measures of weight and length, which were invented by the centaur Chiron. He gave them numbers and the alphabet, and also taught them to read and write. Hermes was honored as the patron saint of young athletes.

In honor of him, stadiums were even built, which were intended for various competitions of athletes, as well as schools where gymnastics were practiced. These schools were decorated with sculptures of Hermes.

An interesting myth is how, thanks to Hermes, the love of Io and Zeus took place. Io was the lover of Zeus. The fact is that Zeus was very afraid of Hera's wrath, so he turned Io into a white heifer, but Hera figured out his cunning plan and asked this heifer for herself as a gift. She assigned the giant Argos to Io as a guard, his body was covered with eyes, and at the same time only two eyes were sleeping, respectively, he watched constantly. So the god Hermes was able to outwit Argos and kill him, thereby freeing Io. The liberated woman wandered through Egypt, Asia, Greece, she was pursued by a gadfly sent by Hera. Only in Egypt, Io was able to regain her appearance, gave birth to a son, Epaphus, who later became the ancestor of many heroes, such as Amphitron, Perseus, Hercules and others. When Io wandered and ended up in the Caucasus, she met Prometheus there, who predicted a great future that awaits the descendants of Io and Zeus.

Hermes is the god of what? In the days of so-called classical mythology, his role is understood differently. He no longer becomes the patron of thieves, but of heroes. Hermes gives Perseus a sword with which he kills the Gorgon Medusa. Hermes reveals to Odysseus the secret of the magic herb, with its help he escaped from the spell of Kirk. He guards during the wanderings of heroes.

God Hermes was also held in high esteem at the feast of the memory of the dead and the awakening of spring, this holiday was called Anthesteria. In gratitude, Zeus gave him a constellation called Lyra. Hermes is a god who in Roman mythology corresponds to the god Mercury, who is the patron of trade and various crafts.