"The Sea of Acheron," by the Hungarian artist Adolf Hiremy-Hirschl (c. 1898). The painting depicts Hermes in his role as a psychopomp, with the souls of the dead begging him to take them back to the world of the living.
God of trade, heralds, merchants, roads, trickery, sports, and athletes. He is the son of Zeus and the Pleiad Maia. The second-youngest Olympian, just older than Dionysus. Hermes was a god forever in motion in his winged sandals, cretaceous in hand, he is best known as the messenger of Zeus and the patron god of travelers. Fittingly, he was the god of thieves and commerce.
It is said that as a child, he stole a herd from Apollo, then crafted a lyre from a tortoise shell as a gift of forgiveness. It is said that he aided Odysseus on his journey home from Troy, and ever since, Hermes has been credited with aiding travelers. Renowned for his physical prowess he is also known for creating the sport of foot racing, as he was always sprinting around the world on missions for the gods.
As a god of travelers, Hermes aided mortals in the ultimate journey- the journey between life and death. As a psychopomp, Hermes' role was to guide the souls of the dead on their long journey from the mortal realm to the realm of Hades.
A bringer of good fortune and wealth, Hermes appears more frequently in mythological tales than any other deity, making him perhaps the most beloved of all the gods of Mount Olympus. His symbols include the caduceus (staff entwined with two snakes), winged sandals and cap, stork, and tortoise (whose shell he used to invent the lyre). His Roman counterpart is Mercury.
| Deities in Greek mythology | |
|---|---|
| Protogenoi | Chaos • Gaia • Tartarus • Uranus • Erebos • Nyx • Aether • Hemera • Eros • Oceanus • Pontus • Thalassa |
| Titans | Atlas • Cronus • Mnemosyne • Prometheus • Rhea • Tethys • Themis • Metis • Hecate • Eos • Helios • Selene |
| Twelve Olympians | Zeus • Hera • Demeter • Hestia • Poseidon • Ares • Artemis • Apollo • Athena • Hermes • Hephaestus • Aphrodite • Dionysus |
| Daemones | Bia • Dike • Eris • Hebe • Hygieia • Hypnos • Nemesis • Nike • Phobos • Poena • Soteria • Thanatos |
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