Hermes



Head of Hermes. Statue of the 2nd century A.D. from Turkey.
Click on image for full size (72K JPEG)
Image courtesy of Corel Corporation.

Hermes was the messenger-god of Zeus, and was the god of games, of business, and of story telling. He was the offspring of the god Zeus and the goddess Maia.

Maia herself was the daughter of the titan Atlas. Hermes was known to the Romans as the god Mercury.

Hermes always played tricks on other gods. He once stole Apollo's cattle by making them walk backwards.

Hermes



Head of Hermes. Statue of the 2nd century A.D. from Turkey.
Click on image for full size (72K JPEG)
Image courtesy of Corel Corporation.

Hermes was the messenger-god of Zeus, and was the god of games, of business, and of story telling. He was the offspring of the god Zeus and the goddess Maia. Maia herself was the daughter of the titan Atlas. Hermes was known to the Romans as the god Mercury.

Hermes loved to play tricks on gods and people. Once, he stole Apollo's cattle by making them walk backwards. This way, their footprints made it look like they were walking away from their hiding spot. Hermes showed Apollo where the cattle were, and they became good friends.

Pan is the son of Hermes.

Hermes



Head of Hermes. Statue of the 2nd century A.D. from Turkey.
Click on image for full size (72K JPEG)
Image courtesy of Corel Corporation.

Hermes was the god of eloquence, games of chance, commerce, and story telling, and was the messenger-god of Zeus. He was the offspring of Zeus and Zeus' mistress-goddess, Maia, who in turn was the daughter of the titan Atlas. Hermes was known to the Romans as the god Mercury.

Hermes was very clever, and he used this to his advantage against more powerful gods. When he was just a baby, Hermes stole Apollo's cattle. He made them walk backwards, so as to make the footprints lead away from the hiding spot. When confronted by Apollo in front of Zeus, Hermes agreed to show Apollo where the cattle were hidden.

Eventually, Apollo and Hermes became great friends. Hermes was a very good lyre player. He gave his instrument to Apollo as a gift, forming a permanent bond between the two. Hermes had a son named Pan.




Last modified October 6, 1996 by the Windows Team

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