Wednesday, October 03, 2007

Hermes


Hermes (Greek, Ἑρμῆς, IPA: [hɜ(r)'mis]), in Greek mythology, is the Olympian god of boundaries and of the travelers who cross them, of shepherds and cowherds, of orators and wit, of literature and poets, of athletics, of weights and measures, of invention, of commerce in general, and of the cunning of thieves and liars.[1] The Homeric hymn to Hermes invokes him as the one
"of many shifts (polytropos), blandly cunning, a robber, a cattle driver, a bringer of dreams, a watcher by night, a thief at the gates, one who was soon to show forth wonderful deeds among the deathless gods."[2]




5 comments:

Anonymous said...

introducing Hermes! greek god of mischief, for all you pagans out there.

Ryan K said...

My personal fav! When I was in Mythology in University (yes, I got a credit for studying Mythology!) I had to do a creative story involving a Greek (or Roman) god. I picked Heremes because he was a real joker, but also, as this post illustrates he was a bit of an odd god with many different talents rolled up into one. He like to party with Dionysus and Pan, he could hang in the underworld with Hades, etc. Plus he was the fastest (his Roman name is Mercury which is the element also known as Quicksilver, and his name also graces the fastest planet in our solar system.) Plus he is the poster boy for FTD and the model for our very own Golden Boy.

I was also a fan of Hephestasis (aka Vulcan) because he was the runt and underdog of the gods. He had a bum leg and Hera hated him (I too had a wicked step-mom for a time), but he was good with his hands and even got Aphrodite in the sack once. Also, Vulcans are the most logical of all the interplanetary people in the federation, and they have very nice pointy ears.

Live long and prosper.

cara said...

ya, he also saved and/or guided to safety quite a few greek maidens: Io, Eurydice etc.


interesting post.

Anonymous said...

More! All this Hermetic stuff is very interesting indeed.

cara said...

very punny.