View source for Hermes

{{Short description|Ancient Greek deity and herald of the gods}}
{{Other uses}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2024}}
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{{Use American English|date=January 2016}}
{{Infobox deity
| type = Greek
| name = Hermes
| image = Hermes Ingenui Pio-Clementino Inv544.jpg
| alt = 
| caption = ''Hermes Ingenui'' ([[Vatican Museums]]), Roman copy of the second century BC after a Greek original of the 5th century BC. Hermes has a ''kerykeion'' ([[caduceus]]), ''[[kithara]]'', ''[[petasos]]'' (round hat) and a traveler's cloak.
| god_of = God of boundaries, roads, travelers, merchants, thieves, athletes, shepherds, commerce, speed, cunning, language, oratory, wit, and messages
| member_of = the [[Twelve Olympians]]
| planet = [[Mercury (planet)|Mercury]]{{sfn|Evans|1998|pp=296–297}}
| abode = [[Mount Olympus]]
| symbol = [[Talaria]], [[caduceus]], [[tortoise]], [[lyre]], [[rooster]], [[Petasos]] ([[winged helmet]])
| consort = 
| parents = [[Zeus]] and [[Maia]]
| siblings = [[Zeus#Offspring|Several paternal half-siblings]]
| mount = 
| Etruscan_equivalent = [[Turms]]
| Roman_equivalent = [[Mercury (mythology)|Mercury]]
| equivalent1_type = Egyptian
| day = [[Wednesday]] (''hēméra Hermoû'')
| equivalent1 = [[Thoth]] or [[Anubis]]
}}
{{Special characters}}
{{Ancient Greek religion}}

'''Hermes''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|h|ɜːr|m|iː|z}}; {{langx|grc|[[wikt:Ἑρμῆς|Ἑρμῆς]]}}) is an Olympian [[deity]] in [[ancient Greek religion]] and [[Greek mythology|mythology]] considered the [[herald]] of the gods. He is also widely considered the protector of human heralds, travelers, [[Theft|thieves]],{{sfn|Burkert|1985|p=158}} [[merchant]]s, and [[orators]].<ref name="Powell">{{Cite book|last=Powell|first=Barry B.|title=Classical Myth|publisher=Pearson|year=2015|isbn=978-0-321-96704-6|edition=8th|location=Boston|pages=177–190}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Hermes the Thief: The Evolution of a Myth |first=Norman Oliver |last=Brown |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=BzNfeQSXKfcC&pg=PA3 3] |publisher=Vintage Books |location=New York |date=1947}}</ref> He is able to move quickly and freely between the worlds of the mortal and the divine aided by his winged [[sandal]]s. Hermes plays the role of the [[psychopomp]] or "soul guide"—a conductor of souls into the [[Underworld|afterlife]].{{R|Powell|pp=179,295}}{{sfn|Burkert|1985|pp=157–158}}

In myth, Hermes functions as the [[Ambassador|emissary]] and messenger of the gods,<ref>Burkert, p. 158. [[Iris (mythology)|Iris]] has a similar role as divine messenger.</ref> and is often presented as the son of [[Zeus]] and [[Maia]], the [[Pleiades (Greek mythology)|Pleiad]]. He is regarded as "the divine trickster",{{sfn|Burkert|1985|p=156}} about which the ''[[Homeric Hymn|Homeric Hymn to Hermes]]'' offers the most well-known account.<ref>Homer, 1–512, as cited in Powell, pp. 179–189.</ref>

Hermes's attributes and symbols include the [[herma]], the [[rooster]], the [[tortoise]], [[wallet|satchel]] or pouch, [[talaria]] (winged sandals), and [[winged helmet]] or simple [[petasos]], as well as the [[palm tree]], [[goat]], the [[4|number four]], several kinds of [[fish]], and [[incense]].<ref>Austin, M. [https://books.google.com/books?id=Xebyor4-4KwC&printsec=frontcover&dq=The+Hellenistic+world+from+Alexander+to+the+Roman+conquest:+a+selection+of+ancient+sources+in+translation&hl=en&ei=IhjCTeSnOdHUgAevueTPDg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCoQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false|The Hellenistic world from Alexander to the Roman conquest: a selection of ancient sources in translation]. Cambridge University Press, 2006. p. 137.</ref> However, his main symbol is the ''[[caduceus]]'', a winged staff intertwined with two snakes copulating and carvings of the other gods.<ref>The Latin word ''{{lang|la|cādūceus}}'' is an adaptation of the Greek {{lang|grc|κηρύκειον}} ''{{lang|grc-Latn|kērykeion}}'', meaning "herald's wand (or staff)", deriving from {{lang|grc|κῆρυξ}} ''{{lang|grc-Latn|kēryx}}'', meaning "messenger, herald, envoy". Liddell and Scott, ''Greek-English Lexicon''; Stuart L. Tyson, "The Caduceus", ''The Scientific Monthly'', '''34'''.6 (1932:492–98), p. 493.</ref>

In [[Roman mythology]] and [[Religion in ancient Rome|religion]] many of Hermes's characteristics belong to [[Mercury (mythology)|Mercury]],<ref>''Bullfinch's Mythology'' (1978), Crown Publishers, p. 926.</ref> a name derived from the Latin ''[[wikt:merx|merx]]'', meaning "merchandise", and the origin of the words "''mer''chant" and "com''merce''."{{R|Powell|p=178}}

{{TOC limit|3}}

==Name and origin==
The earliest form of the name {{lang|grc-Latn|Hermes}} ({{lang|grc|Ἑρμῆς}}) is the [[Mycenaean Greek]] *{{lang|gmy-Latn|hermāhās}},<ref name=BeekesHermes>{{cite book |first=R.S.P. |last=Beekes |others=With the assistance of Lucien van Beek |title=Etymological Dictionary of Greek |url=https://archive.org/details/etymologicaldict00beek |url-access=limited |publisher=Brill |year=2010 |place=Leiden, Boston |pages=[https://archive.org/details/etymologicaldict00beek/page/n255 461]–2|isbn=978-90-04-17418-4}}</ref> written {{lang|gmy|{{script|Linb|𐀁𐀔𐁀}}}} {{lang|gmy-Latn|e-ma-a<sub>2</sub>}} ({{lang|gmy-Latn|e-ma-ha}}) in the [[Linear B]] syllabic script.<ref>{{citation |author=Joann Gulizio |url=http://www.utexas.edu/research/pasp/publications/pdf/hermes.pdf |title=Hermes and e-m-a<sub>2</sub> |publisher=[[University of Texas]] |access-date= 26 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131005042939/http://www.utexas.edu/research/pasp/publications/pdf/hermes.pdf |archive-date=5 October 2013 }}</ref> Other forms of the name of Hermes are {{lang|grc-Latn|Hermeias}} ({{lang|grc|Ἑρμείας}}), {{lang|grc-Latn|Hermaōn}} ({{lang|grc|Ἑρμάων}}), {{lang|grc-Latn|Hermān}} ({{lang|grc|Ἑρμᾱν}}), {{lang|grc-Latn|Hermaios}} ({{lang|grc|Ἓρμαιος}}), and {{lang|grc-Latn|Hermaỵos}} ({{lang|grc|Ἓρμαιυος}}).<ref name="Nilsson, Vol I p.502">Nilsson, Vol I p.502</ref> Most scholars derive ''Hermes'' from Greek {{lang|grc|ἕρμα}} ({{lang|grc-Latn|[[herma]]}}),<ref name="Greekhistory&gods"/> 'stone heap'.{{R|Powell|pp=177}} {{lang|grc-Latn|Hermax}}, ('heap of stones'),<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3De(%2Frmac ἕρμαξ]</ref> {{lang|grc-Latn|hermaīon}}, ('gift of Hermes'),<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3De(%2Frmaion hermaion]</ref> {{lang|grc-Latn|hermaīos}} hill were holy to Hermes.<ref name="Nilsson, Vol I p.502"/>

The [[etymology]] of {{Lang|grc|ἕρμα}} itself is unknown, but is probably not a [[Proto-Indo-European]] word.<ref name=BeekesHermes/> [[Robert S. P. Beekes|R. S. P. Beekes]] rejects the connection with {{lang|grc-Latn|herma}} and suggests a [[Pre-Greek]] origin.<ref name=BeekesHermes/> However, the stone etymology is also linked to Indo-European {{lang|ine-x-proto|ser-}} ('to bind, put together'). Scholarly speculation that ''Hermes'' derives from a more primitive form meaning 'one [[cairn]]' is disputed.<ref name=DaviesB>{{cite book |author-link=Anna Morpurgo Davies |last=Davies |first=Anna Morpurgo |author2=Yves Duhoux |title=Linear B: a 1984 survey |publisher=Peeters Publishers |year=1985 |page=136 }}</ref> Other scholars have suggested that Hermes may be a cognate of the Vedic [[Sarama]].<ref>''Larousse Encyclopedia of Mythology'', ed. Félix Guirand & Robert Graves, Hamlyn, 1968, p. 123.</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Debroy |first=Bibek |title=Sarama and her Children: The Dog in the Indian Myth |publisher=Penguin Books India |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-14-306470-1 |page=77}}</ref>

It is likely that Hermes is a pre-Hellenic god, though the exact origins of his worship, and its original nature, remain unclear. [[Arthur Frothingham|Frothingham]] thought the god to have existed as a Mesopotamian snake-god, similar or identical to [[Ningishzida]], a god who served as mediator between humans and the divine, especially [[Ishtar]], and who was depicted in art as a [[caduceus]].<ref>Frothingham, A.L. (1916). [https://www.jstor.org/stable/497115 "Babylonian Origin of Hermes the Snake-God, and of the Caduceus I"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170402035930/http://www.jstor.org/stable/497115 |date=2 April 2017 }}. AJA 20.2, 175-211.</ref><ref name=transformer/> Angelo (1997) thinks Hermes to be based on the [[Thoth]] archetype.<ref>{{cite book|author=Petrūska Clarkson|title=Counselling Psychology: Integrating Theory, Research, and Supervised Practice|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rqqA8irfMvsC&pg=PA24|year=1998|publisher=Psychology Press|isbn=978-0-415-14523-7|page=24}}</ref> The absorbing ("combining") of the attributes of Hermes to Thoth developed after the time of Homer amongst Greeks and Romans; Herodotus was the first to identify the Greek god with the Egyptian ([[Hermopolis]]) (Plutarch and Diodorus also did so), although Plato thought the gods were dissimilar (Friedlander 1992).<ref>{{cite book |author=Walter J. Friedlander |title=The Golden Wand of Medicine: A History of the Caduceus Symbol in Medicine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8PFT3qb_tyEC&pg=PA69 |year=1992 |publisher=[[ABC-Clio]] |isbn=978-0-313-28023-8 |page=69 }}.</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Jacques Derrida |author-link=Jacques Derrida |title=Dissemination |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m8lmHmVW12EC&pg=PA89 |year=2004 |publisher=[[A & C Black]] |isbn=978-0-8264-7696-8 |page=89 }}</ref>

His cult was established in Greece in remote regions, likely making him originally a god of nature, farmers, and shepherds. It is also possible that since the beginning he has been a deity with [[shamanic]] attributes linked to [[divination]], [[reconciliation (theology)|reconciliation]], [[magic (supernatural)|magic]], [[sacrifice]]s, and [[initiation]] and contact with other planes of existence, a role of mediator between the worlds of the visible and invisible.<ref>''Danubian Historical Studies'', '''2''', Akadémiai Kiadó, 1988, p. 32.</ref> According to a theory that has received considerable scholarly acceptance, Hermes originated as a form of the god [[Pan (god)|Pan]], who has been identified as a reflex of the [[Proto-Indo-European religion|Proto-Indo-European]] pastoral god {{lang|ine-x-proto|[[*Péh₂usōn|Péh<sub>2</sub>usōn]]}},<ref>H. Collitz, "Wodan, Hermes und Pushan," ''Festskrift tillägnad Hugo Pipping på Hans sextioårsdag den 5 November 1924'' 1924, pp 574–587.</ref><ref name="Oxford University Press">{{cite book |last1=Mallory |first1=J. P. |last2=Adams |first2=D.Q. |title=The Oxford Introduction to Proto-Indo-European and the Proto-Indo-European World |url=https://archive.org/details/oxfordintroducti00mall |url-access=limited |date=2006 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |location=Oxford, England |isbn=978-0-19-929668-2 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/oxfordintroducti00mall/page/n435 411] and 434 }}</ref> in his aspect as the god of [[Herma|boundary markers]]. The PIE root {{lang|ine-x-proto|peh<sub>2</sub>}} 'protect' also shows up in Latin {{lang|la|pastor}} 'shepherd' (whence the English ''pastoral''). A zero grade of the full PIE form ({{lang|ine-x-proto|ph<sub>2</sub>usōn}}) yields the name of the Sanskrit [[psychopomp]] [[Pushan]], who, like Pan, is associated with goats.<ref>Beekes, R. (2006) ''Etymological Dictionary of Greek'' p. 600</ref> Later, the epithet supplanted the original name itself and Hermes took over the role of psychopomp and as god of messengers, travelers, and boundaries, which had originally belonged to Pan, while Pan himself continued to be venerated by his original name in his more rustic aspect as the god of the wild in the relatively isolated mountainous region of [[Arcadia (ancient region)|Arcadia]]. In later myths, after the cult of Pan was reintroduced to Attica, Pan was said to be Hermes's son.<ref name="Oxford University Press"/><ref>{{cite book |last1=West |first1=Martin Litchfield |author-link=Martin Litchfield West |title=Indo-European Poetry and Myth |date=2007 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |location=Oxford, England |isbn=978-0-19-928075-9 |url=http://library.globalchalet.net/Authors/Poetry%20Books%20Collection/Indo-European%20Poetry%20and%20Myth.pdf |pages=281–283 |access-date=23 April 2017 |archive-date=17 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180417103355/http://library.globalchalet.net/Authors/Poetry%20Books%20Collection/Indo-European%20Poetry%20and%20Myth.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Iconography==
[[Image:AGMA Tête d'Hermès.jpg|thumb|left|Archaic bearded Hermes from a herm, early 5th century BC]]

The image of Hermes evolved and varied along with Greek art and culture. In [[Archaic Greece]] he was usually depicted as a matured and bearded man, who dressed as a traveler, herald and shepherd. This image remained common on the Hermai, which served as boundary markers, roadside markers, and grave markers, as well as votive offerings.

In [[Classical Greece|Classical]] and [[Hellenistic Greece]], Hermes was usually depicted as a young, athletic man lacking a beard. When represented as Logios (Greek: Λόγιος, speaker), his attitude is consistent with the attribute. [[Hermes Ludovisi]] by [[Phidias]] or [[Myron]] possibly represent beardless Hermes Logios<ref>https://academic.oup.com/bics/article/56/Supplement_105_Part_1/489/5599798?searchresult=1</ref>. [[Praxiteles]]  showed him with the baby [[Dionysus]] in his arms.

[[File:Hermes (Mercury) at the Getty Villa (bronze copy of a Roman bronze).jpg|thumb|left|Hermes's winged sandals are evident in this [[Getty Villa]] copy of a Roman bronze recovered from the [[Villa of the Papyri]], Naples]]

At all times, however, through the Hellenistic periods, Roman, and throughout Western history into the present day, several of his characteristic objects are present as identification, but not always all together.<ref name= Smith/><ref>[[Karl Otfried Müller|Müller, Karl Otfried]]. ''[https://archive.org/details/ancientartandit01welcgoog <!-- quote=Ancient art and its remains: or, A manual of the archæology of art. --> Ancient art and its remains: or, A manual of the archæology of art]''. B. Quaritch, 1852. pp. 483–488.</ref>{{Better source needed|date=May 2021|reason=The sources are from over a 150 years ago.}} Among these objects is a wide-brimmed hat, the petasos, widely used by rural people of antiquity to protect themselves from the sun, and that in later times was adorned with a pair of small wings; sometimes this hat is not present, and may have been replaced with wings rising from the hair.

[[File:Statue Hermes Chiaramonti.jpg|thumb|160px|right|Statue of Hermes wearing the ''[[petasos]]'' and a voyager's cloak, and carrying the [[caduceus]] and a purse; Roman copy after a Greek original ([[Vatican Museums]])]]

Another object is the [[caduceus]], a staff with two intertwined snakes, sometimes crowned with a pair of wings and a sphere.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BzNfeQSXKfcC|title=Hermes the Thief|isbn=978-0-940262-26-3|last1=Brown|first1=Norman Oliver|year=1990|publisher=SteinerBooks }}</ref> The caduceus, historically, appeared with Hermes, and is documented among the Babylonians from about 3500 BC. Two snakes coiled around a staff was also a symbol of the god [[Ningishzida]], who, like Hermes, served as a mediator between humans and the divine (specifically, the goddess [[Ishtar]] or the supreme [[Ningirsu]]). In Greece, other gods have been depicted holding a caduceus, but it was mainly associated with Hermes. It was said to have the power to make people fall asleep or wake up, and also made peace between [[litigants]], and is a visible sign of his authority, being used as a sceptre.<ref name=Smith/>{{Better source needed|date=May 2021}} A similar-appearing but distinct symbol is the [[Rod of Asclepius]], associated with the patron of medicine and son of [[Apollo]], [[Asclepius]], which bears only one snake. The [[Rod of Asclepius]], occasionally conflated with the caduceus in modern times, is used by most Western physicians as a badge of their profession. After the Renaissance, the caduceus also appeared in the heraldic crests of several, and currently is a symbol of commerce.<ref name=Smith/>{{Better source needed|date=May 2021}}

Hermes's sandals, called ''pédila'' by the Greeks and ''talaria'' by the Romans, were made of palm and myrtle branches but were described as beautiful, golden and immortal, made by sublime art, able to take the roads with the speed of wind. Originally, they had no wings, but late in the artistic representations, they are depicted. In certain images, the wings spring directly from the ankles. Hermes has also been depicted with a purse or a bag in his hands, wearing a robe or cloak, which had the power to confer invisibility. His weapon was a [[harpe]], which killed [[Argus Panoptes|Argos]]; it was also lent to Perseus to kill [[Medusa]] and [[Cetus (mythology)|Cetus]].<ref name=Smith/>

==Functions==
Hermes began as a god with strong chthonic, or underworld, associations. He was a [[psychopomp]], leader of souls along the road between "the Under and the Upper world". This function gradually expanded to encompass roads in general, and from there to boundaries, travelers, sailors, commerce,<ref name=transformer/> and travel itself.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last1 =Pearson |first1 =Patricia O'Connell |title =World History: Our Human Story |last2 =Holdren |first2 =John |date =May 2021 |publisher =Sheridan Kentucky |isbn =978-1-60153-123-0 |location =Versailles, Kentucky |pages =115}}</ref> Hermes also in time became a figure associated with literary creation, rhetoric and story-telling.<ref>
{{cite book
 |last1                = Nilsson
 |first1               = Ingela
 |author-link1         = Ingela Nilsson
 |editor-last1         = Cupane
 |editor-first1        = Carolina
 |editor-last2         = Krönung
 |editor-first2        = Bettina
 |date                 = 27 September 2016
 |chapter              = Romantic Love in Rhetorical Guise: The Byzantine Revival of the Twelfth Century
 |title                = Fictional Storytelling in the Medieval Eastern Mediterranean and Beyond
 |url                  = https://books.google.com/books?id=-N8zDwAAQBAJ
 |series               = Brill's Companions to the Byzantine World, volume 1
 |publication-place    = Leiden
 |publisher            = Brill
 |page                 = 49
 |isbn                 = 9789004307728
 |access-date          = 15 July 2025
 |quote                = [...] Hermes – the god of literary creation – appears to protect not only the young lovers but also the rhetorics of the work.
}}
</ref>

===As a chthonic and fertility god===
{{One source section|date=May 2021}}

Beginning with the earliest records of his worship, Hermes has been understood as a [[chthonic]] deity (heavily associated with the earth or underworld).<ref name=transformer/> As a chthonic deity, the worship of Hermes also included an aspect relating to [[Fertility rite|fertility]], with the [[phallus]] being included among his major symbols. The inclusion of phallic imagery associated with Hermes and placed, in the form of ''[[herma]]'', at the entrances to households may reflect a belief in ancient times that Hermes was a symbol of the household's fertility, specifically the potency of the male head of the household in producing children.<ref name=transformer/>
[[File:Thanatos Painter ARV 1228 11 Charon receiving Hermes and a deceased woman (07).jpg|thumb|[[Charon]] with punt pole standing in his boat, receiving Hermes psychopompos who leads a deceased woman.  [[Thanatos Painter]], ca. 430 BC]]

The association between Hermes and the underworld is related to his function as a god of boundaries (the boundary between life and death), but he is considered a [[psychopomp]], a deity who helps guide souls of the deceased to the afterlife, and his image was commonly depicted on gravestones in classical Greece.<ref name=transformer/>

===As a god of boundaries===
[[File:Herma Hermes Getty Villa 79.AA.132.jpg|thumb|left|150px|Herm of Hermes; Roman copy from the Hermes Propyleia of Alcamenes, 50–100 AD]]
{{Further|Herm (sculpture)|Liminal deity}}

In Ancient Greece, Hermes was a phallic god of boundaries. His name, in the form ''herma'', was applied to a wayside marker pile of stones, and each traveler added a stone to the pile. In the 6th century BC, [[Hipparchus (brother of Hippias)|Hipparchus]], the son of [[Pisistratus]], replaced the [[cairn]]s that marked the midway point between each village ''[[deme]]'' at the central ''[[agora]]'' of Athens with a square or rectangular pillar of stone or bronze topped by a bust of a bearded Hermes. An erect phallus rose from the base. In the more primitive [[Mount Kyllini]] or Cyllenian herms, the standing stone or wooden pillar was simply a carved phallus. "That a monument of this kind could be transformed into an [[Twelve Olympians|Olympian]] god is astounding," [[Walter Burkert]] remarked.<ref>[[Walter Burkert]], 1985. ''Greek Religion'' (Harvard University Press)</ref> In Athens, herms were placed outside houses, both as a form of protection for the home, a symbol of male fertility, and as a link between the household and its gods with the gods of the wider community.<ref name=transformer/>

In 415 BC, on the night when the Athenian fleet was about to set sail for [[Syracuse, Italy|Syracuse]] during the [[Peloponnesian War]], all of the Athenian hermai were vandalized. The Athenians at the time believed it was the work of saboteurs, either from Syracuse or from the anti-war faction within Athens itself. [[Socrates]]'s pupil [[Alcibiades]] was suspected of involvement, and one of the charges eventually made against Socrates, which led to his execution 16 years later, was that he had either corrupted Alcibiades or failed to guide him away from his moral corruption.<ref>[[Thucydides]], ''[[History of the Peloponnesian War]]'', 6.27.</ref>

===As a messenger god===
In association with his role as a psychopomp and god who is able to cross boundaries easily, Hermes is predominantly worshipped as a messenger, and often described as the messenger of the gods (since he can convey messages between the divine realms, the underworld, and the world of mortals).<ref name="Blackwood"/>{{Better source needed|date=May 2021|reason=Source may be outdated}} As a messenger and divine herald, he wears winged sandals (or, in Roman art influenced by Etruscan depictions of [[Turms]], a winged cap).<ref name="Rochester">{{cite web |url =http://people.rit.edu/asg1478/iweb/midterm/hermes.html |author=Rochester Institute of Technology |title =Greek Gods |publisher =Rochester Institute of Technology |archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20130525090414/http://people.rit.edu/asg1478/iweb/midterm/hermes.html |archive-date =25 May 2013}}</ref>

===As a shepherd god===
[[File:Hermes crioforo.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Kriophoros Hermes (which takes the lamb), late-Roman copy of Greek original from the 5th century BC. [[Museo di Scultura Antica Giovanni Barracco|Barracco Museum]], Rome]]

Hermes was known as the patron god of flocks, herds, and shepherds, an attribute possibly tied to his early origin as an aspect of Pan. In [[Boeotia]], Hermes was worshiped for saving the town from a plague by carrying a ram or calf around the city walls. A yearly festival commemorated this event, during which a lamb would be carried around the city by "the most handsome boy" and then sacrificed to purify and protect the city from disease, drought, and famine. Numerous depictions of Hermes as a shepherd god carrying a lamb on his shoulders (''Hermes kriophoros'') have been found throughout the Mediterranean world, and it is possible that the iconography of Hermes as "The Good Shepherd" had an influence on early Christianity, specifically in the description of Christ as "the Good Shepherd" in the Gospel of John.<ref name=transformer/><ref name=Shepherd>Freeman, J. A., Jefferson, L. M., & Jensen, R. M. (2015). ''The Good Shepherd and the Enthroned Ruler: A Reconsideration of Imperial Iconography in the Early Church''. The Art of Empire. Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Fortress.</ref>

==Historical and literary sources==
===In the Mycenaean period===
The earliest written record of Hermes comes from [[Linear B]] inscriptions from Pylos, Thebes, and Knossos dating to the Bronze Age [[Mycenaean Greece|Mycenaean period]]. Here, Hermes's name is rendered as ''e-ma-a'' (Ἑρμάhας). This name is always recorded alongside those of several goddesses, including Potnija, Posidaeja, Diwja, Hera, Pere, and Ipemedeja, indicating that his worship was strongly connected to theirs. This is a pattern that would continue in later periods, as worship of Hermes almost always took place within temples and sanctuaries primarily dedicated to goddesses, including Hera, Demeter, Hecate, and Despoina.<ref name="transformer">RADULOVI, IFIGENIJA; VUKADINOVI, SNEŽANA; SMIRNOVBRKI, ALEKSANDRA – Hermes the Transformer Ágora. Estudos Clássicos em debate, núm. 17, 2015, pp. 45–62 Universidade de Aveiro. Aveiro, Portugal. [https://www.redalyc.org/pdf/3210/321037735002.pdf] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210907143318/https://www.redalyc.org/pdf/3210/321037735002.pdf|date=7 September 2021}} (PDF link)</ref>

===In the Archaic period===
In literary works of [[Archaic Greece]], Hermes is depicted both as a protector and a trickster. In [[Homer]]'s ''[[Iliad]]'', Hermes is called "the bringer of good luck", "guide and guardian", and "excellent in all the tricks".<ref name="ReferenceC">Homer. ''The Iliad''. The Project Gutenberg Etext. Trans. [[Samuel Butler (novelist)|Samuel Butler]].</ref> In [[Hesiod]]'s ''[[Works and Days]]'', Hermes is depicted giving [[Pandora]] the gifts of lies, seductive words, and a dubious character.<ref name="Works And Days">Hesiod. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=4oACZ5aTlu8C&q=Works+And+Days+Hugh+G.+Evelyn-White Works And Days]{{Dead link|date=April 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}''. ll. 60–68. Trans. Hugh G. Evelyn-White, 1914.</ref>

The earliest known theological or spiritual documents concerning Hermes are found in the [[Homeric Hymns]] composed {{cx|the 7th century BC}}. In ''Homeric Hymn 4 to Hermes'' describes the god's birth and his theft of [[Apollo]]'s sacred cattle. In this hymn, Hermes is invoked as a god "of many shifts" (''[[wikt:πολύτροπος|polytropos]]''), associated with cunning and thievery, but also a bringer of dreams and a night guardian.<ref name="Hymn to Hermes 13">''Hymn to Hermes'' 13.</ref> He is said to have invented the chelys [[lyre]],<ref name="Homeric hymn to Hermes">Homeric hymn to Hermes</ref> as well as racing and the sport of [[wrestling]].<ref name="ReferenceD">"First Inventors... Mercurius [Hermes] first taught wrestling to mortals." – Hyginus, ''[[Fabulae]]'' 277.</ref>

===In the Classical period===
[[File:Achilles embassy Louvre G264 n3.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Hermes wearing a petasos. Attic red-figure cup, {{Circa|480–470 BC}}; from [[Vulci]]]]

The cult of Hermes flourished in [[Attica]], and many scholars writing before the discovery of the Linear B evidence considered Hermes to be a uniquely Athenian god. This region had numerous [[Herma]]i, or pillar-like icons, dedicated to the god marking boundaries, crossroads, and entryways. These were initially stone piles, later pillars made of wood, stone, or bronze, with carved images of Hermes, a phallus, or both.<ref name=transformer/> In the context of these herms, by the [[Classical Greece|Classical period]] Hermes had come to be worshiped as the patron god of travelers and sailors.<ref name=transformer/> By the 5th century BC, Hermai were also in common use as grave monuments, emphasizing Hermes's role as a chthonic deity and psychopomp.<ref name=transformer/> This was probably his original function, and he may have been a late inclusion in the Olympic pantheon; Hermes is described as the "youngest" Olympian, and some myths, including his theft of Apollo's cows, describe his initial coming into contact with celestial deities. Hermes therefore came to be worshiped as a mediator between celestial and chthonic realms, as well as the one who facilitates interactions between mortals and the divine, often being depicted on libation vessels.<ref name=transformer/>

Due to his mobility and his liminal nature, mediating between opposites (such as merchant/customer<ref name=transformer/>), he was considered the god of [[commerce]] and social intercourse, the wealth brought in business, especially sudden or unexpected enrichment, travel, roads and crossroads, borders and boundary conditions or transient, the changes from the threshold, agreements and contracts, friendship, hospitality, [[sexual intercourse]], games, data, the draw, good luck, the sacrifices and the sacrificial animals, flocks and shepherds and the fertility of land and cattle.<ref name= Smith>Smith, William. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=b8gOAAAAYAAJ&q=dictionary+of+greek+and+roman+biography+and+mythology Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230429233506/https://books.google.com/books?id=b8gOAAAAYAAJ&q=dictionary+of+greek+and+roman+biography+and+mythology |date=29 April 2023 }}''. Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1867. pp. 411–413.</ref><ref>Neville, Bernie. ''[http://www.trinity.edu/org/tricksters/trixway/current/Vol%202/Vol2_1/Bneville.pdf Taking Care of Business in the Age of Hermes] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720060443/http://trinity.edu/org/tricksters/TrixWay/current/Vol%202/Vol2_1/Bneville.pdf |date=20 July 2011 }}''. Trinity University, 2003. pp. 2–5.</ref><ref>Padel, Ruth. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=qCtd2ux19MwC&q=In+and+Out+of+the+Mind:+Greek+Images+of+the+Tragic+Self In and Out of the Mind: Greek Images of the Tragic Self] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230412055829/https://books.google.com/books?id=qCtd2ux19MwC&q=In%20and%20Out%20of%20the%20Mind%3A%20Greek%20Images%20of%20the%20Tragic%20Self |date=12 April 2023 }}''. [[Princeton University Press]], 1994. pp. 6–9.</ref>

In Athens, Hermes Eion came to represent the Athenian naval superiority in their defeat of the Persians, under the command of Cimon, in 475 BC. In this context, Hermes became a god associated with the Athenian empire and its expansion, and of democracy itself, as well as all of those closely associated with it, from the sailors in the navy, to the merchants who drove the economy.<ref name=transformer/> A section of the agora in Athens became known as the Hermai, because it was filled with a large number of herms, placed there as votive offerings by merchants and others who wished to commemorate a personal success in commerce or other public affair. The Hermai was probably destroyed in the [[Siege of Athens and Piraeus (87–86 BC)]].<ref name=transformer/>

There was a popular, now lost play by the tragedian [[Astydamas]] with Hermes as the primary subject.

===In the Hellenistic period===
[[Image:Hermes-louvre3.jpg|thumb|right|''[[Hermes Fastening his Sandal]]'', early Imperial Roman marble copy of a [[Lysippus|Lysippan]] bronze ([[Louvre Museum]])]]

As Greek culture and influence spread following the conquests of [[Alexander the Great]], a period of [[syncretism]] or ''[[interpretatio graeca]]'' saw many traditional Greek deities identified with foreign counterparts. In [[Ptolemaic Kingdom|Ptolemaic Egypt]], for example, the Egyptian god [[Thoth]] was identified by Greek speakers as the Egyptian form of Hermes. The two gods were worshiped as one at the Temple of Thoth in Khemenu, a city which became known in Greek as [[Hermopolis]].<ref>Bailey, Donald, "Classical Architecture" in Riggs, Christina (ed.), ''The Oxford Handbook of Roman Egypt'' (Oxford University Press, 2012), p. 192.</ref> This led to Hermes gaining the attributes of a god of translation and interpretation, or more generally, a god of knowledge and learning.<ref name=transformer/> This is illustrated by a 3rd-century BC example of a letter sent by the priest Petosiris to King Nechopso, probably written in Alexandria c. 150 BC, stating that Hermes is the teacher of all secret wisdoms, which are accessible by the experience of religious ecstasy.<ref name="Marie-Luise von Franz"/><ref>Jacobi, M. (1907). ''Catholic Encyclopedia'': [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02018e.htm "Astrology"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170721112505/http://newadvent.org/cathen/02018e.htm |date=21 July 2017 }}, New York: Robert Appleton Company.</ref>

An epithet of Thoth found in the temple at [[Esna]], "Thoth the great, the great, the great",<ref name="Hart">Hart, G., ''The Routledge Dictionary of Egyptian Gods and Goddesses'', 2005, Routledge, second edition, Oxon, p 158</ref> became applied to Hermes beginning in at least 172 BC. This lent Hermes one of his most famous later titles, {{lang|grc-Latn|[[Hermes Trismegistus]]}} ({{lang|grc|Ἑρμῆς ὁ Τρισμέγιστος}}), 'thrice-greatest Hermes'.<ref>Copenhaver, B. P., "Hermetica", Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1992, p xiv.</ref> The figure of Hermes Trismegistus would later absorb a variety of other esoteric wisdom traditions and become a major component of [[Hermeticism]], [[alchemy]], and related traditions.<ref name=fowden>Fowden, G., "The Egyptian Hermes", Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1987, p 216</ref>

===In the Roman period===
As early as the 4th century BC, Romans had adopted Hermes into their own religion, combining his attributes and worship with the earlier Etruscan god Turms under the name [[Mercury (mythology)|Mercury]]. According to St. Augustin, the Latin name "Mercury" may be a title derived from "''medio currens''", in reference to Hermes's role as a mediator and messenger who moves between worlds.<ref name=transformer/> Mercury became one of the most popular Roman gods, as attested by the numerous shrines and depictions in artwork found in [[Pompeii]].<ref>Beard, Pompeii: The Life of a Roman Town at 295–298</ref> In art, the Roman Mercury continued the style of depictions found in earlier representations of both Hermes and Turms, a young, beardless god with winged shoes or hat, carrying the caduceus. His role as a god of boundaries, a messenger, and a psychopomp also remained unchanged following his adoption into the Roman religion (these attributes were also similar to those in the Etruscan's worship of Turms).<ref>{{cite book|chapter=Turms étrusque et la fonction de « ''minister'' » de l'Hermès italique |pages=171–217 |title=Mercure romain : Le culte public de Mercure et la fonction mercantile à Rome de la République archaïque à l'époque augustéenne |last=Combet-Farnoux |first=Bernard |date=1980 |publisher=École française de Rome }}</ref>
[[File:Casa dei vettii, vestibolo, oechus affrescato sul peristilio, issione legato alla ruota da vulcano alla presenza di giunone 02.jpg|thumb|left|Hermes on an antique fresco from [[Pompeii]]]]
The Romans identified the Germanic god [[Odin]] with Mercury, and there is evidence that Germanic peoples who had contact with Roman culture also accepted this identification. Odin and Mercury/Hermes share several attributes in common. For example, both are depicted carrying a staff and wearing a wide-brimmed hat, and both are travelers or wanderers. However, the reasons for this interpretation appear to go beyond superficial similarities: Both gods are connected to the dead (Mercury as psychopomp and Odin as lord of the dead in [[Valhalla]]), both were connected to eloquent speech, and both were associated with secret knowledge. The identification of Odin as Mercury was probably also influenced by a previous association of a more Odin-like Celtic god as the "Celtic Mercurius".<ref name=odin>Schjødt, J. P. Mercury–Wotan–Óðinn: One or Many?. Myth, Materiality, and Lived Religion, 59.</ref>

A further Roman Imperial-era syncretism came in the form of [[Hermanubis]], the result of the identification of Hermes with the Egyptian god of the dead, [[Anubis]]. Hermes and Anubis were both psychopomps the primary attribute leading to their conflation as the same god. Hermanubis depicted with a human body and a jackal head, holding the caduceus. In addition to his function of guiding souls to the afterlife, Hermanubis represented the Egyptian priesthood the investigation of truth.<ref>[[Plutarch]], ''[[De Iside et Osiride]]'' 61</ref><ref>[[Diodorus]], ''[[Bibliotheca historica]]'' i.18, 87</ref>

Beginning around the turn of the 1st century AD, a process began by which, in certain traditions Hermes became [[Euhemerism|euhemerised]] – that is, interpreted as a historical, mortal figure who had become divine or elevated to godlike status in legend. Numerous books of wisdom and magic (including astrology, theosophy, and alchemy) were attributed to this "historical" Hermes, usually identified in his Alexandrian form of Hermes Trismegistus. As a collection, these works are referred to as the ''[[Hermetica]]''.<ref name=eternal>Faivre, A. (1995). ''The Eternal Hermes: From Greek God to Alchemical Magus''. Red Wheel/Weiser.</ref>

===In the Middle Ages===
Though worship of Hermes had been almost fully suppressed in the Roman Empire following the [[Christian persecution of paganism under Theodosius I]] in the 4th century AD, Hermes continued to be recognized as a mystical or prophetic figure, though a mortal one, by [[Christianity|Christian]] scholars. Early [[medieval]] Christians such as [[Augustine]] believed that a euhemerised Hermes Trismegistus had been an ancient pagan prophet who predicted the emergence of Christianity in his writings.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Heiser|first1=James D.|title=Prisci Theologi and the Hermetic Reformation in the Fifteenth Century|date=2011|publisher=Repristination Press|location=Malone, Tex.|isbn=978-1-4610-9382-4|edition=1st}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|title = Enoch in the Islamic Tradition|last = Jafar|first = Imad|date = 2015|journal = Sacred Web: A Journal of Tradition and Modernity|volume =  XXXVI}}</ref> Some Christian philosophers in the medieval and Renaissance periods believed in the existence of a "''[[prisca theologia]]''", a single thread of true theology that could be found uniting all religions.<ref>Yates, F., "Giordano Bruno and the Hermetic Tradition", Routledge, London, 1964, pp 14–18 and pp 433–434</ref><ref>Hanegraaff, W. J., "New Age Religion and Western Culture", SUNY, 1998, p 360</ref> Christian philosophers used Hermetic writings and other ancient philosophical literature to support their belief in the ''prisca theologia,'' arguing that Hermes Trismegistus was a contemporary of Moses,<ref>Yates, F., "Giordano Bruno and the Hermetic Tradition", Routledge, London, 1964, p 27 and p 293</ref> or that he was the third in a line of important prophets after [[Enoch (ancestor of Noah)|Enoch]] and Noah.<ref name="Yates">Yates, F., "Giordano Bruno and the Hermetic Tradition", Routledge, London, 1964, p52</ref><ref>Copenhaver, B.P., "Hermetica", Cambridge University Press, 1992, p xlviii</ref>

The 10th-century ''[[Suda]]'' attempted to further Christianize the figure of Hermes, claiming that "He was called Trismegistus on account of his praise of the trinity, saying there is one divine nature in the trinity."<ref>Copenhaver, ''Hermetica'', p. xli</ref>

===Temples and sacred places===
[[File:Ancient Mieza, Macedonian tombs of Lefkadia, The Tomb of Jugdement 545fddcedb8f434cdb346f41dbd838ec.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Hermes fresco from the Macedonian [[Tomb of Judgement, Lefkadia|Tomb of Judgement]], 4th century&nbsp; BC]]

There are only three temples known to have been specifically dedicated to Hermes during the Classical Greek period, all of them in [[Arcadia (ancient region)|Arcadia]]. Though there are a few references in ancient literature to "numerous" temples of Hermes,<ref name= Smith/><ref>Lucian of Samosata. The Works of Lucian of Samosata. BiblioBazaar, LLC, 2008. Volume 1, p. 107.</ref> this may be poetic license describing the ubiquitous herms, or other, smaller shrines to Hermes located in the temples of other deities.<ref name=transformer/> One of the oldest places of worship for Hermes was [[Mount Kyllini|Mount Cyllene]] in Arcadia, where some myths say he was born. Tradition holds that his first temple was built by [[Lycaon (king of Arcadia)|Lycaon]]. From there, the Hermes cult would have been taken to Athens, from which it radiated to the whole of Greece.<ref name= Smith/> In the Roman period, additional temples to Hermes (Mercury) were constructed across the Empire, including several in modern-day Tunisia. Mercury's temple in Rome was situated in the [[Circus Maximus]], between the [[Aventine Hill|Aventine]] and [[Palatine Hill|Palatine]] hills, and was built in 495&nbsp;BC.<ref>[[Livy]], ''[[Ab urbe condita libri (Livy)|Ab urbe condita]]'', [[s:From the Founding of the City/Book 2#21|2:21]]</ref>

In most places, temples were [[consecrated]] to Hermes in conjunction with Aphrodite, as in Attica, Arcadia, Crete, Samos and in Magna Graecia. Several ex-votos found in his temples revealed his role as initiator of young adulthood, among them soldiers and hunters, since war and certain forms of hunting were seen as ceremonial initiatory ordeals. This function of Hermes explains why some images in temples and other vessels show him as a teenager.

As a patron of the [[gym]] and [[fighting]], Hermes had statues in gyms and he was also worshiped in the sanctuary of the Twelve Gods in Olympia where Greeks celebrated the [[Ancient Olympic Games|Olympic Games]].  His statue was held there on an altar dedicated to him and Apollo together.<ref>Johnston, Sarah Iles. Initiation in Myth, Initiation in Practice. In Dodd, David Brooks & [[Christopher A. Faraone|Faraone, Christopher A.]] [https://books.google.com/books?id=PuIIMV570jIC&q=Initiation+in+ancient+Greek+rituals+and+narratives:+new+critical Initiation in ancient Greek rituals and narratives: new critical perspectives] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230412054858/https://books.google.com/books?id=PuIIMV570jIC&q=Initiation+in+ancient+Greek+rituals+and+narratives:+new+critical |date=12 April 2023 }}. Routledge, 2003. pp. 162, 169.</ref>
A temple within the [[Aventine Hill|Aventine]] was consecrated in 495 BC.<ref>[[Frank Gardner Moore|F. G. Moore]], [https://books.google.com/books?id=MgP4xdCPey4C&dq=gods+of+Trade&pg=PA126 The Roman's World] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230412054856/https://books.google.com/books?id=MgP4xdCPey4C&dq=gods+of+Trade&pg=PA126 |date=12 April 2023 }}, Biblo & Tannen Publishers, 1936, {{ISBN|0-8196-0155-1}}.</ref><ref>"Aventine" in V. Neskow, [https://books.google.com/books?id=Wo3VYXQ0QV0C&dq=Aventine&pg=PA143 ''The Little Black Book of Rome: The Timeless Guide to the Eternal City''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230412054854/https://books.google.com/books?id=Wo3VYXQ0QV0C&dq=Aventine&pg=PA143 |date=12 April 2023 }}, Peter Pauper Press, Inc., 2012, {{ISBN|1-4413-0665-X}}.</ref>

[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]] wrote that during his time, at [[Megalopolis, Greece|Megalopolis]] people could see the ruins of the temple of Hermes Acacesius.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0525.tlg001.perseus-grc1:8.30.6 |title=Pausanias, Description of Greece, 8.30.6 |access-date=20 February 2021 |archive-date=16 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220616050823/https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0525.tlg001.perseus-grc1:8.30.6 |url-status=live }}</ref>
In addition, the Tricrena (Τρίκρηνα, meaning Three Springs) mountains at [[Pheneus]] were sacred to Hermes, because three springs were there and according to the legend, Hermes was washed in them, after birth, by the nymphs of the mountain.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0525.tlg001.perseus-grc1:8.16.1 |title=Pausanias, Description of Greece, 8.16.1 |access-date=20 February 2021 |archive-date=16 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220616050654/https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0525.tlg001.perseus-grc1:8.16.1 |url-status=live }}</ref>
Furthermore, at [[Pharae]] there was a water sacred to Hermes. The name of the spring was Hermes's stream and the fish in it were not caught, being considered sacred to the god.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0525.tlg001.perseus-grc1:7.22.4 |title=Pausanias, Description of Greece, 7.22.4 |access-date=20 February 2021 |archive-date=16 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220616051534/https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0525.tlg001.perseus-grc1:7.22.4 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Sacrifices to Hermes involved honey, cakes, pigs, goats, and lambs. In the city of [[Tanagra]], it was believed that Hermes had been nursed under a wild [[Arbutus unedo|strawberry tree]], the remains of which were held there in the shrine of Hermes [[Promachus]],<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.+9.22&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160 |title=Pausanias, Description of Greece, 9.22.2 |access-date=20 February 2021 |archive-date=26 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211126093229/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.+9.22&fromdoc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0160 |url-status=live }}</ref> and in the hills Phene ran three waterways that were sacred to him, because he was believed to have been bathed there at birth.

===Festivals===
[[File:Marble relief with Hermes MET DT6551.jpg|thumb|Marble relief with Hermes. Roman, 27 BCE – 68 CE. [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]].]]
Hermes's feast was the [[Hermaea (festival)|Hermaia]], which was celebrated with sacrifices to the god and with athletics and gymnastics, possibly having been established in the 6th century BC, but no documentation on the festival before the 4th century BC survives. However, Plato said that Socrates attended a Hermaea. Of all the festivals involving Greek games, these were the most like [[initiation]]s because participation in them was restricted to young boys and excluded adults.<ref>Scanlon, Thomas Francis. [https://books.google.com/books?id=nHoX3hY6WFsC&q=Eros+and+Greek+athletics Eros and Greek athletics] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230429233504/https://books.google.com/books?id=nHoX3hY6WFsC&q=Eros+and+Greek+athletics |date=29 April 2023 }}. Oxford University Press, 2002. pp. 92–93.</ref>

In Boeotia there was a fest at [[Tanagra]], and two temples. The first of Hermes ''kriophoros'' (ram-bearer) who was related to the festival and the second of Hermes ''promachos'' (champion)<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.+9.22.1&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160 Pausanias 9.22.1]</ref> At [[Coroneia]] there was a sanctuary of Hermes ''epimelios''(keeper of the flocks)  <ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.+9.34.3&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160 Pausanias 9.34.3]</ref> and at [[Corseia]] a grove with a statue of Hermes.<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.+9.24.5&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160 Pausanias 9.24.5]</ref> In Attica Hermes was worshiped together with other gods, especially with the nymphs. Inscriptions from the islands indicate that there were festivals of Hermes at [[Chios]] and [[Crete]], where he had the epithet ''dromios'' (of the race-course).<ref name="Nilsson, Vol.I, p.502">Nilsson, Vol.I, p.502</ref> In [[Ancient Corinth|Corinth]] he had a temple and two bronze statues<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.+2.2.8&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160 Pausanias 2.2.8]</ref> and at [[Pherai]] an oracular shrine and a spring of Hermes ''agoraios'' (of the market)<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.+7.22.2&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160 Pausanias 7.22.2]</ref> Hermes was specially worshiped at [[Pheneus|Pheneos]] where he had a temple and the games "Hermaia" were celebrated.<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160%3Abook%3D8%3Achapter%3D14%3Asection%3D10 Pausanias 8.14.10]</ref>

At [[Pellene]] there was a statue of Hermes ''dolios'' and an old established race.<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.+7.27.1&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160 Pausanias 7.27.1]</ref> At [[Cyllene (Elis)|Kyllene]] the statue of Hermes was a phallos.<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.+6.26.5&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160 Pausanias 6.26.5]</ref> Near [[Tegea]] there was the temple of Hermes, [[Aepytus]]. At [[Megalopolis, Greece|Megalopolis]] there was a temple of Hermes Akakesios, and a second near a stadium for athletic games.<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.+8.47.4&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160 Pausanias 8.47.4]</ref> The myth of the birth of Hermes is related to the mountain [[Mount Kyllini|Kyllene]] near Pheneos and the god had the surname ''Kyllenios''. [[Pindar]] refers to games of Hermes at Kyllene that seem to be similar to the games of Pheneos.<ref name="Nilsson, Vol.I, p.502"/>

==Epithets==
[[File:Man wearing Petasos Coinage of Kapsa Macedon circa 400 BCE.jpg|thumb|Hermes wearing a petasos. Coinage of [[Campsa (Macedonia)|Kapsa]], [[Macedonia (ancient kingdom)|Macedon]], c. 400 BC.]]

===Argeïphontes===
[[File:Marble statue of Hermes MET DP253646.jpg|thumb|Marble statue of Hermes. 1st or 2nd century A.D.]]
Hermes's [[epithet]] ''Argeïphontes'' ({{langx|grc|Ἀργειφόντης}}; {{langx|la|Argicida}}), meaning "slayer of Argus",<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite book |title=The Facts on File: Encyclopedia of World Mythology and Legend}}</ref><ref>Homeric Hymn 29 to Hestia.</ref> recalls the slaying of the hundred-eyed giant [[Argus Panoptes]] by the messenger god. Argus was watching over the heifer-nymph [[Io (mythology)|Io]] in the sanctuary of [[Hera]] in Argos. Hermes, disguised as a shepherd, placed a charm on Argus's eyes with the caduceus to cause the giant to sleep, after which he slew the giant with a [[harpe]].<ref name="Greekhistory&gods">{{cite book |url=http://faculty.gvsu.edu/websterm/Greekhistory%26gods.htm |title=Greek History and the Gods |publisher=Grand Valley State University (Michigan) |access-date=8 April 2012 |archive-date=29 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211229074056/https://faculty.gvsu.edu/websterm/Greekhistory%26gods.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> The eyes were then put into the tail of the [[Peafowl|peacock]], a symbol of Hera.

An Homeric form is '''Diaktoros Argeïphontes'''.({{langx|grc|διάκτορος ἀργειφόντης}}). Frisk derives  "argophontes"  from "argos" (argipous), "fast" frequently for dogs. Sanskrit ''rirẚ'', ''rji-pya'', "fast flying", Armenian ''arevi''. The meaning seems similar to the epithet of Hermes ''kynagches'', dog-throttler. "Diaktor" (from -kter, kill) indicates a god of death.<ref>Nilsson, Vol I p.501 A1</ref><ref name="Liddel Scott">[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3Dkuna%2Fgxhs Liddel Scott]</ref>

===Local cults===
*'''Aipytos''', with a temple at Tegea in Arcadia.<ref name=Nilsson502>Nilsson, Vol. I, p.502</ref>
*'''[[Acacesium|Acacesius]]''', with a temple at Megalopolis <ref name=Nilsson502/> 
*'''Cranaios''', on the mountain Ida in Crete.<ref>Nilsson, Vol. I, p.261</ref> 
*'''Cyllenian''' ({{langx|el|Κυλλήνιος}}), because according to some myths he was born at the [[Mount Cyllene]], and nursed by the [[Oread]] nymph [[Cyllene (nymph)|Cyllene]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.cs.uky.edu/~raphael/sol/sol-entries/kappa/2660 |title=Suda, kappa.2660 |access-date=2 November 2020 |archive-date=16 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816215532/https://www.cs.uky.edu/~raphael/sol/sol-entries/kappa/2660 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | title = A Companion to Sophocles | first1 = Kirk | last1 = Ormand | publisher = Wiley Blackwell | isbn = 978-1-119-02553-5 | date = 2012 | page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=ad0qBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA163 163]}}</ref>
* '''Dromios''', god of the race-course in Crete <ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3D*dro%2Fmios dromios]</ref>
*'''Perpheraios''', Hyperborean in Thrace.<ref>Nilsson, Vol. I, p.81</ref><ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3D*perferai%3Dos Lidell Scott]</ref>

===Related to animals===
{{main|Kriophoros}}

* '''Epimelios''', taking care of animals.<ref name=Nilsson506>Nilsson, Vol. I, p.506</ref>
*'''Kriophoros'''.In ancient Greek culture, ''kriophoros'' ({{langx|el|κριοφόρος}}) or ''criophorus'', the "ram-bearer",<ref>MA De La Torre, A Hernández, [https://books.google.com/books?id=FPo_nS1Ce1sC&dq=Hermes+Thoth&pg=PA121 The Quest for the Historical Satan] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230412055832/https://books.google.com/books?id=FPo_nS1Ce1sC&dq=Hermes+Thoth&pg=PA121 |date=12 April 2023 }}, Fortress Press, 2011, {{ISBN|0-8006-6324-1}}.</ref> is a figure that commemorates the solemn sacrifice of a ram. It becomes an epithet of Hermes.
*'''Ktenites''', taking care of horses, lions, dogs, etc.<ref name=Nilsson506/>
*'''Molossos''', nursing small animals.<ref name=Nilsson506/>
*'''Nomios''', nursing small animals.<ref name=Nilsson506/>
*'''Kynagches''', dog throttler<ref name="Liddel Scott" /> 

===Messenger and guide===
[[File:Euphronios krater side A MET L.2006.10.jpg|thumb|right|400px|[[Sarpedon_(Trojan_War_hero)|Sarpedon's]] body carried by [[Hypnos]] and [[Thanatos]] (Sleep and Death), while Hermes watches. Side A of the so-called "Euphronios krater", Attic red-figured calyx-krater signed by Euxitheos (potter) and Euphronios (painter), c. 515 BC.]]
The chief office of the god was as messenger.<ref name="Blackwood">{{cite book |author=W. Blackwood Ltd. (Edinburgh) |title=Blackwood's Edinburgh magazine, Volume 22; Volume 28 |publisher=Leonard Scott & Co. 1849}}</ref> Explicitly, at least in sources of classical writings, of [[Euripides]]'s ''Electra'' and ''Iphigenia in Aulis''<ref>[[Euripides]], ''Iphigenia in Aulis'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0108%3Acard%3D1276 1301] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211129210645/https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0108:card%3D1276 |date=29 November 2021 }}.</ref> and in [[Epictetus]]'s ''Discourses''.<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/searchresults?all_words=Hermes&target=en&documents=&phrase=Hermes&exclude_words=&page=9&any_words= Perseus] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220123143951/https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/searchresults?all_words=Hermes&target=en&documents=&phrase=Hermes&exclude_words=&page=9&any_words= |date=23 January 2022 }} – Tufts University</ref> Hermes (''Diactorus'', ''Angelos'')<ref>{{cite book|author1=R Davis-Floyd|author2=P Sven Arvidson|title=Intuition: The Inside Story : Interdisciplinary Perspectives|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=45cpgKImproC&pg=PA96|year=1997|publisher=Psychology Press|isbn=978-0-415-91594-6|page=96}}</ref> the messenger,<ref name="larousse">{{cite book |title=New Larousse Encyclopedia of Mythology |publisher=Hamlyn Publishing Group Limited |edition=New (fifth impression) |year=1972 |orig-year=1968 |page=123 |isbn=0-600-02351-6}}</ref> is in fact only seen in this role, for Zeus, from within the pages of the ''Odyssey''.<ref name="Brown" /> The messenger divine and herald of the Gods, he wears the gifts from his father, the petasos and talaria.<ref name="Rochester"/>

{{blockquote|Oh mighty messenger of the gods of the upper and lower worlds... (Aeschylus).<ref name="Duchesne-Guillemin">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_MoUAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA226 |author=Jacques Duchesne-Guillemin |title=Études mithriaques: actes du 2e Congrès International, Téhéran, du 1er au 8 september 1975 |year=1976 |publisher=BRILL, 1978|isbn=90-04-03902-3 }}</ref>}}
*'''Angelos''', messenger.<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0138%3Ahymn%3D18%3Acard%3D1 Hymn 18 to Hermes]</ref>
*'''Agetor''', god of travellers.<ref name=Nilsson507>Nilsson, Vol. I, p.507</ref>
* '''Chrysorappis''', "with golden wand", an Homeric epithet.<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3Dxruso%2Frrapis Lidell Scott]</ref>
*'''Diaktoros''', an Homeric epithet. Messenger of the gods and conductor of the shades of the dead.<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0073%3Aentry%3Ddia%2Fktoros Lidell Scot]</ref>
*'''Hegemonios''', protector of the wayfarers.<ref name=Nilsson507/>
*'''Eriounios''', an Homeric epithet with uncertain meaning. According to Hesychius: oùnei, deṹro, dràme. The Arcadians also oùnon, the Cypriots drómon.<ref name="ounei">[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3Dou%29%2Fnei ounei]</ref> This intepretetion relates the epithet to "move quickly".<ref>C.M.Bowra, JHS.LIV, 1934, p.68: Nilsson, Vol. I, p.501, A1</ref>
*'''Hodios''', patron of travelers and wayfarers.<ref name="ReferenceA" />
* '''Keryx''', messenger.<ref name=Nilsson509>Nilsson, Vol. I, p.509</ref>
* '''Oneiropompus''', conductor of dreams.<ref name="ReferenceA" />
* '''Poimandres''', shepherd of men.<ref name="Marie-Luise von Franz">{{cite book |author=M-L von Franz |author-link=Marie-Louise von Franz |title=Projection and Re-Collection in Jungian Psychology: Reflections of the Soul |year=1980 |publisher=Open Court Publishing, 1985 |isbn=0-87548-417-4}}</ref>
* '''Pompos''', conveyor related to the underworld.<ref name=Nilsson509>Nilsson, Vol. I, p.509</ref>
* '''Pompaios''', conductor.<ref name=Nilsson509/>
* '''[[Psychopompos]]''', conveyor or conductor of souls,<ref name="larousse" /><ref>{{cite magazine |magazine=Crisolenguas |first=Jonathan F. |last=Krell |url=http://crisolenguas.uprrp.edu/ArticlesV2N2/Gustave%20Moreau.pdf |title=Mythical patterns in the art of Gustave Moreau: The primacy of Dionysus |volume=2 |number=2 |access-date=29 March 2019 |archive-date=15 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415165350/http://crisolenguas.uprrp.edu/ArticlesV2N2/Gustave%20Moreau.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> and ''psychogogue'', conductor or leader of souls in (or through) the [[Greek underworld|underworld]].<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pz2ORay2HWoC&pg=RA2-PA1328 |title=The Chambers Dictionary |publisher=Allied Publishers |year=1998|isbn=978-81-86062-25-8 }}</ref>
* '''Sokos Eriounios''', a Homeric epithet with a much-debated meaning – probably "swift, good-running".<ref>Reece, Steve, "Σῶκος Ἐριούνιος Ἑρμῆς (Iliad 20.72): The Modification of a Traditional Formula," ''Glotta: Zeitschrift für griechische und lateinische Sprache'' 75 (1999–2000) 259–280, understands ''Sokos'' as a metanalysis of a word ending in -s plus ''Okus'' "swift", and ''eriounios'' as related to Cyprian "good-running". [https://www.academia.edu/30821165] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211016120243/https://www.academia.edu/30821165|date=16 October 2021}}</ref> But in the Hymn to Hermes ''Eriounios'' is etymologized as "very beneficial".<ref>Wrongly, according to Reece, Steve, "A Figura Etymologica in the Homeric Hymn to Hermes," ''Classical Journal'' 93.1 (1997) 29–39. https://www.academia.edu/30641338/A_Figura_Etymologica_in_the_Homeric_Hymn_to_Hermes {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191231033536/https://www.academia.edu/30641338/A_Figura_Etymologica_in_the_Homeric_Hymn_to_Hermes |date=31 December 2019 }}</ref>

===Trade===
[[File:Hermes Logios Altemps 33.jpg|thumb|upright|250px|So-called "Logios Hermes" (''Hermes Orator''). Marble, Roman copy from the late 1st century BC – early 2nd century AD after a Greek original of the 5th century BC.]]

* '''[[Agoraeus]]''', of the [[agora]];<ref name=lang>{{cite book |first=Mabel |last=Lang |author-link=Mabel Lang |title=Graffiti in the Athenian Agora |url=http://www.ascsa.edu.gr/publications/upload/Graffiti%20in%20the%20Athenian%20AgoraLR.pdf|access-date=14 April 2007 |edition=rev. |series=Excavations of the Athenian Agora |year=1988 |publisher=American School of Classical Studies at Athens |location=Princeton, NJ |isbn=0-87661-633-3 |page=7| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040609002142/http://www.ascsa.edu.gr/publications/upload/Graffiti%20in%20the%20Athenian%20AgoraLR.pdf |archive-date=9 June 2004 }}</ref> belonging to ''the market'' ([[Aristophanes]])<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ehrenberg |first1=Victor |title=The People of Aristophanes: A Sociology of Old Attic Comedy |date=1951 |publisher=B. Blackwell |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oikOAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA147}}</ref>
* '''Empolaios''', "engaged in traffic and commerce"<ref name="ReferenceB"/>

Hermes is sometimes depicted in art works holding a purse.<ref name="S. Hornblower, A. Spawforth">{{cite book |author1=S. Hornblower |author2=A. Spawforth |title=The Oxford Companion to Classical Civilization |page=370|publisher=Oxford Reference, Oxford University Press |date=2014 |isbn=978-0-19-870677-9}}</ref>

===Dolios ("tricky")===
Source:<ref>[[Polly Young-Eisendrath|P Young-Eisendrath]], [https://books.google.com/books?id=5dZUM7ogtQYC&dq=HermesDolios&pg=PA266 The Cambridge Companion to Jung] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230429235016/https://books.google.com/books?id=5dZUM7ogtQYC&dq=HermesDolios&pg=PA266 |date=29 April 2023 }}, Cambridge University Press, 2008, {{ISBN|0-521-68500-1}}.</ref>

No cult to Hermes Dolios existed in [[Attica]], and so "this form of Hermes seems to have existed in speech only, but he was surely still a real power"<ref>I Polinskaya, citing Robert Parker (2003): I Polinskaya, [https://books.google.com/books?id=8FqNAgAAQBAJ&dq=Hermes+dolios&pg=PA103 ''A Local History of Greek Polytheism: Gods, People and the Land of Aigina, 800–400 BCE'' (p. 103)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230429233509/https://books.google.com/books?id=8FqNAgAAQBAJ&dq=Hermes+dolios&pg=PA103 |date=29 April 2023 }}, BRILL, 2013, {{ISBN|90-04-26208-3}}.</ref><ref>[https://archive.org/details/anuniversalhist05histgoog/page/n43 <!-- pg=34 quote=Attica history. --> An universal history, from the earliest accounts to the present time – Volume 5 (p. 34)], 1779.</ref>

Hermes Dolio is ambiguous.<ref>L Kahn-Lyotard, [https://books.google.com/books?id=ANC8Cwuk46sC&dq=Hermes+dolios&pg=PA185 Greek and Egyptian Mythologies] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230412054901/https://books.google.com/books?id=ANC8Cwuk46sC&dq=Hermes%20dolios&pg=PA185 |date=12 April 2023 }} (edited by Y Bonnefoy), University of Chicago Press, 1992, {{ISBN|0-226-06454-9}}.</ref> According to prominent [[folklorist]] [[Yeleazar Meletinsky]], Hermes is a deified [[trickster]]<ref name="Meletinskii93p131">Meletinsky, ''Introduzione'' (1993), p. 131.</ref> and master of thieves ("a plunderer, a cattle-raider, a night-watching" in the ''Homeric Hymn to Hermes'')<ref>N. O. Brown, ''Hermes the Thief: The Evolution of a Myth''</ref> and deception ([[Euripides]])<ref>NW Slater, [https://books.google.com/books?id=WoEPlVY9vYEC&dq=Hermes+Dolios&pg=PA179 Spectator Politics: Metatheatre and Performance in Aristophanes] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230429233510/https://books.google.com/books?id=WoEPlVY9vYEC&dq=Hermes%20Dolios&pg=PA179 |date=29 April 2023 }}, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2002, {{ISBN|0-8122-3652-1}}.</ref> and (possibly evil) tricks and trickeries,<ref name="ReferenceB">[[Aristophanes]]{{clarify|date=April 2016}}</ref><ref>"[T]he thief praying...": [https://books.google.com/books?id=ZZh1OgWCIWgC&dq=HermesDolios&pg=PA221 W Kingdon Clifford, L Stephen, F Pollock] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230412055833/https://books.google.com/books?id=ZZh1OgWCIWgC&dq=HermesDolios&pg=PA221 |date=12 April 2023 }}</ref><ref>William Stearns Davis – ''A Victor of Salamis: A Tale of the Days of Xerxes, Leonidas, and Themistocles'', Wildside Press LLC, 2007, {{ISBN|1-4344-8334-7}}.</ref><ref>A Brown, [https://books.google.com/books?id=JQQOAAAAQAAJ&dq=HermesDolios&pg=PA101 A New Companion to Greek Tragedy] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230430001029/https://books.google.com/books?id=JQQOAAAAQAAJ&dq=HermesDolios&pg=PA101 |date=30 April 2023 }}, Taylor & Francis, 1983, {{ISBN|0-389-20396-3}}.</ref> crafty (from ''lit''. god of craft),<ref>F Santi Russell, [https://books.google.com/books?id=xIh_Vsbc4IYC&dq=HermesDolios&pg=PA183 Information Gathering in Classical Greece] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230412055835/https://books.google.com/books?id=xIh_Vsbc4IYC&dq=HermesDolios&pg=PA183 |date=12 April 2023 }}, University of Michigan Press, 1999.</ref> the cheat,<ref>JJ Ignaz von Döllinger, [https://books.google.com/books?id=2MsZAAAAMAAJ&dq=HermesDolios&pg=PA191 The Gentile and the Jew in the courts of the Temple of Christ: an introduction to the history of Christianity] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230412054904/https://books.google.com/books?id=2MsZAAAAMAAJ&dq=HermesDolios&pg=PA191 |date=12 April 2023 }}, Longman, Green, Longman, Roberts, and Green, 1862.</ref> the god of stealth.<ref>EL Wheeler, [https://books.google.com/books?id=WsF8FF40qKUC&dq=HermesDolios&pg=PA32 ''Stratagem and the Vocabulary of Military Trickery''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230429235018/https://books.google.com/books?id=WsF8FF40qKUC&dq=HermesDolios&pg=PA32 |date=29 April 2023 }}, BRILL, 1988, {{ISBN|90-04-08831-8}}.</ref> He is also known as the friendliest to man, cunning,<ref>R Parker, [https://books.google.com/books?id=ff51JeXhHXUC&dq=Hermes+Dolios&pg=PA126 Polytheism and Society at Athens] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230430001028/https://books.google.com/books?id=ff51JeXhHXUC&dq=Hermes+Dolios&pg=PA126 |date=30 April 2023 }}, Oxford University Press, 2007, {{ISBN|0-19-921611-8}}.</ref> treacherous,<ref>[[Athenaeus]], [https://books.google.com/books?id=WkViAAAAMAAJ&q=Hermes+Dolios ''The learned banqueters''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230412055832/https://books.google.com/books?id=WkViAAAAMAAJ&q=Hermes+Dolios |date=12 April 2023 }}, Harvard University Press, 2008.</ref> and a schemer.<ref>I Ember, [https://books.google.com/books?id=QYKfAAAAMAAJ&q=Hermes+Dolios ''Music in painting: music as symbol in Renaissance and baroque painting''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230430001026/https://books.google.com/books?id=QYKfAAAAMAAJ&q=Hermes%20Dolios |date=30 April 2023 }}, Corvina, 1984.</ref>

Hermes Dolios was worshipped at [[Pellene]]<ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.+7.27.1 7.27.1] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220616052518/https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.%207.27.1 |date=16 June 2022 }}</ref><ref>Plutarch (trans. William Reginald Halliday), ''The Greek questions of Plutarch''.</ref> and invoked through Odysseus.<ref>S Montiglio, [https://books.google.com/books?id=AuU7DDnpd4EC&dq=HermesDolios&pg=PA278 ''Silence in the Land of Logos''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230412054909/https://books.google.com/books?id=AuU7DDnpd4EC&dq=HermesDolios&pg=PA278 |date=12 April 2023 }}, Princeton University Press, 2010, {{ISBN|0-691-14658-6}}.</ref>

{{blockquote|(As the ways of gain are not always the ways of honesty and straightforwardness, Hermes obtains a bad character and an in-moral (amoral [ed.]) cult as Dolios)<ref>J Pòrtulas, C Miralles, Archilochus and the Iambic Poetry (page 24)</ref>{{Verify source|date=August 2024|reason=cite linked to google search results, unclear if anyone read original source}} }}

Hermes is ''amoral''<ref>{{cite book|author=John H. Riker|title=Human Excellence and an Ecological Conception of the Psyche|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MzAl_Pn6s_UC&pg=PA187|year=1991|publisher=SUNY Press|isbn=978-1-4384-1736-3|page=187}}</ref> like a baby.<ref>{{cite book|author=Andrew Samuels|title=Jung and the Post-Jungians|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SI0OAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA247|year=1986|publisher=Routledge & Kegan Paul|isbn=978-0-7102-0864-4|page=247}}</ref> Zeus sent Hermes as a teacher to humanity to teach them knowledge of and value of justice and to improve inter-personal relationships ("[[Human bonding|bonding between mortals]]").<ref>{{cite book|author=Ben-Ami Scharfstein|title=Amoral Politics: The Persistent Truth of Machiavellism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ibkxwtmP7_UC&pg=PA102|year=1995|publisher=SUNY Press|isbn=978-0-7914-2279-3|page=102}}</ref>

Considered to have a mastery of rhetorical persuasion and ''special pleading'', the god typically has nocturnal ''[[Wikt:modus operandi|modus operandi]]''.<ref>{{cite book|author=Homerus|title=Three Homeric Hymns: To Apollo, Hermes, and Aphrodite|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UYvVJ3zB7W8C|year=2010|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-45158-1}}</ref> Hermes knows the boundaries and crosses the borders of them to confuse their definition.<ref>L Hyde, [https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781847672254 <!-- quote=Hermes trickster. --> Trickster Makes this World: Mischief, Myth and Art], Canongate Books, 2008.</ref>

===Thief===
[[File:Hermes Propylaeus Roman copy Alkamens, Glyptothek Munich 159 120280.jpg|thumb|upright|200px|Hermes Propylaeus. Roman copy of the [[Alcamenes]] statue from the entrance of the Athenian [[Acropolis]], original shortly after the 450 BC.]]

*In the Lang translation of the ''Homeric Hymn to Hermes'', the god after being born is described as a ''robber'', ''a captain of raiders'' and a ''thief of the gates''.<ref>Andrew Lang, [http://www.gutenberg.org/files/16338/16338-h/16338-h.htm THE HOMERIC HYMNS A NEW PROSE TRANSLATION AND ESSAYS, LITERARY AND MYTHOLOGICAL] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924201605/http://www.gutenberg.org/files/16338/16338-h/16338-h.htm |date=24 September 2015 }}. Transcribed from the 1899 George Allen edition.</ref>
*'''Klepsiphron''' (κλεψίφρων), with the mind of a thief.<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/searchresults?all_words=kleyi/frwn&all_words_expand=yes&la=greek Hymn 4 to Hermes]</ref>
*'''Pheletes''' (φηλητής), thief.<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0058%3Aentry%3Dfhlhth%2Fs  pheletes]</ref><ref name="Nilsson, Vol. I p.507">Nilsson, Vol. I p.507</ref>
*'''Phelos''' (φήλος), deceitful.<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/morph?l=fh%3Dlos&la=greek&can=fh%3Dlos0&prior=fhlhth/s&d=Perseus:text:1999.04.0058:entry=fhlhth/s&i=1#Perseus:text:1999.04.0057:entry=fh=los-contents phelos]</ref><ref name="Nilsson, Vol. I p.507"/>

According to the late Jungian psychotherapist López-Pedraza, everything Hermes thieves, he later sacrifices to the gods.<ref name="RLP"/>

====Patron of thieves====
[[Autolycus]] received his skills as the greatest of thieves due to sacrificing to Hermes as his patron.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=GkZJehm339wC&dq=Hermes+sacrifices+all+he+thieves+to+the+gods&pg=PA77 ''The Homeric Hymns'' (pp. 76–77)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230412054911/https://books.google.com/books?id=GkZJehm339wC&dq=Hermes+sacrifices+all+he+thieves+to+the+gods&pg=PA77 |date=12 April 2023 }}, edited by [[Apostolos Athanassakis|AN Athanassakis]], JHU Press, 2004, {{ISBN|0-8018-7983-3}}.</ref>

===Additional===
Other epithets included:
*'''Agonios''', as president of games.<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3Da)gw%2Fnios1 agonios]</ref>  
* '''Akaketos''' "without guile", "gracious", an Homeric epithet.
* '''Chthonius''' – at the festival Athenia ''Chytri'' sacrifices are made to this visage of the god only.<ref>Aristophanes, [https://archive.org/details/frogsaristophan02arisgoog/page/n383 <!-- pg=247 quote=Hermes Chthonius. --> The Frogs of Aristophanes, with Notes and Critical and Explanatory, Adapted to the Use of Schools and Universities, by T. Mitchell], John Murray, 1839.</ref><ref>GS Shrimpton, [https://books.google.com/books?id=1tRf3DQycDEC&dq=Hermes+Chthonius&pg=PA264 Theopompus The Historian] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230430003041/https://books.google.com/books?id=1tRf3DQycDEC&dq=Hermes+Chthonius&pg=PA264 |date=30 April 2023 }}, McGill-Queens, 1991.</ref>
* '''Dotor Eaon''' (δώτωρ εάων), giver of good things," an Homeric epithet.<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3Ddw%2Ftwr dotor eaon]</ref>
*'''Eriboas''', loud shouting <ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3De)ribo%2Fas eriboas]</ref>
*'''Enagonios''', presiding over the games.<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3De)nagw%2Fnios enagonios]</ref>
*'''Eriounis''', an Homeric epithet with uncertain meaning. Probably helper or bringer of good luck.<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0134:book=20:card=30 Iliad 20.30]</ref>
*'''Eriounios''', an Homeric epithet with uncertain meaning. According to Hesychius: oùnei, deṹro, dràme. The Arcadians also oùnon, the Cypriots drómon.<ref name="ounei"/> This intepretetion relates the epithet to "move quickly".<ref>C.M.Bowra, JHS.LIV, 1934, p.68: Nilsson, Vol. I, p.501, A2</ref> 
* '''Koinos''', fellowship, communion, partnership <ref>RA Bauslaugh, [https://books.google.com/books?id=IKiDIz7EWaoC&dq=hermes+Koinos&pg=PA37 The Concept of Neutrality in Classical Greece] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230430003039/https://books.google.com/books?id=IKiDIz7EWaoC&dq=hermes+Koinos&pg=PA37 |date=30 April 2023 }}, University of California Press, 1991, {{ISBN|0-520-06687-1}}.</ref>
* '''Ploutodotes''', giver of wealth (as inventor of fire)<ref>Fiske 1865.</ref>
* '''Promachos''', champion.<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160%3Abook%3D9%3Achapter%3D22%3Asection%3D1 Pausanias 9.22.1]</ref>
* '''Proopylaios''', "before the gate", "guardian of the gate";<ref>CO Edwardson (2011), ''Women and Philanthropy, tricksters and soul: re-storying otherness into crossroads of change'', Pacifica Graduate Institute, 2010, p. 60.</ref> ''Pylaios'', "doorkeeper"<ref>The Jungian Society for Scholarly Studies: Ithaca August 2009, Conference Paper, page 12 [https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:gHHkuzal164J:www.thejungiansociety.org/Jung%2520Society/e-journal/Volume-6/Fidyk-2010.pdf+&gl=uk&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESi0SCCwioHlGLBZ7mz3yH4BJst86sZ2b3WiJujr6ZMZJz9UvApI84fyJgK5nd9Xvn-Lxm_Tt7Pz3dka1C0vEqER_vSxnps3-V4BZx6qGnruaKNZwpl5m8zs2v45T8eWN3vO3W-j&sig=AHIEtbR4is9-5V1NTob8qGnfkoU71aFlIg] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131010015232/https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:gHHkuzal164J:www.thejungiansociety.org/Jung%2520Society/e-journal/Volume-6/Fidyk-2010.pdf+&gl=uk&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESi0SCCwioHlGLBZ7mz3yH4BJst86sZ2b3WiJujr6ZMZJz9UvApI84fyJgK5nd9Xvn-Lxm_Tt7Pz3dka1C0vEqER_vSxnps3-V4BZx6qGnruaKNZwpl5m8zs2v45T8eWN3vO3W-j&sig=AHIEtbR4is9-5V1NTob8qGnfkoU71aFlIg|date=10 October 2013}}.</ref>
* '''Sokos''' (σώκος), the strong one, an Homeric epithet.<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3Dsw%3Dkos sokos]</ref>
* '''Stropheus''',<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3Dstrofai%3Dos Lidell Scott]</ref> "the socket in which the pivot of the door moves" ([[Karl Kerényi|Kerényi]] in Edwardson) or "door-hinge". Protector of the door (that is the boundary), to the temple<ref name="lang" /><ref name="Roman Roman 2010">{{cite book|author1=Luke Roman|author2=Monica Roman|title=Encyclopedia of Greek and Roman Mythology|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tOgWfjNIxoMC&pg=PT232|year=2010|publisher=Infobase Publishing|isbn=978-1-4381-2639-5|pages=232ff}}</ref><ref>Sourced originally in R Davis-Floyd, P Sven Arvidson (1997).</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Raffaele Pettazzoni|title=The All-knowing God|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CsEOAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA165|year=1956|publisher=Arno Press|isbn=978-0-405-10559-3|page=165}}</ref><ref>CS Wright, J Bolton Holloway, RJ Schoeck – ''Tales within tales: Apuleius through time'', AMS Press, 2000, p. 23.</ref>

==Mythology==

===Early Greek sources===

====Homer and Hesiod====
[[Image:Byzantine - Circular Pyxis - Walters 7164 - View C.jpg|left|thumb|300px|This circular Pyxis or box depicts two scenes. The one shown presents Hermes awarding the golden apple of the Hesperides to Aphrodite, whom Paris has selected as the most beautiful of the goddesses.<ref>{{cite web |publisher= [[The Walters Art Museum]]
 |url= http://art.thewalters.org/detail/28991
 |title= Circular Pyxis}}</ref> The Walters Art Museum.]]
According to the [[Homeric hymn|''Homeric Hymn to Hermes'']], [[Zeus]], in the dead of night, secretly made love to [[Maia]],<ref>Gantz, pp. 105–6; ''[[Homeric Hymns]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0138%3Ahymn%3D4 4.5]</ref> who avoided the company of the gods, in a cave of Cyllene. She became pregnant with Hermes. After giving birth to the baby, Maia wrapped him in blankets and went to sleep.  The rapidly maturing infant Hermes crawled away to [[Thessaly]], where, by nightfall of his first day, he stole some of his half-brother [[Apollo (god)|Apollo]]'s cattle and invented the [[lyre]] from a tortoise shell. Maia refused to believe Apollo when he claimed that Hermes was the thief, and Zeus then sided with Apollo. Finally, Apollo exchanged the cattle for the lyre, which became one of his identifying attributes.<ref>[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Apollod.+3.10.2&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022:book=:chapter=&highlight=Maia 3.10.2]</ref>

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."<ref name="Hymn to Hermes 13" /> The word ''polutropos'' ("of many shifts, turning many ways, of many devices, ingenious, or much wandering") is also used to describe his mortal descendant [[Odysseus]] in the first line of the ''[[Odyssey]]''. In addition to the chelys [[lyre]],<ref name="Homeric hymn to Hermes" /> Hermes was believed to have invented many types of racing and the sport of [[wrestling]], and therefore was a patron of athletes.<ref name="ReferenceD" />

{{Trojan War}}
[[Homer]] and [[Hesiod]] portrayed Hermes as the author of skilled or deceptive acts and also as a benefactor of gods and mortals alike. In ''[[Works and Days]]'', when Zeus ordered [[Hephaestus]] to create [[Pandora]] to disgrace humanity by punishing Prometheus's act of giving fire to man, every god gave her a gift, and Hermes's gifts were crafty words and a dubious character. Hermes was then instructed to take her as wife to the [[Titans|Titan]] [[Epimetheus (mythology)|Epimetheus]].<ref name="Works And Days" /> With the help of [[Artemis]], Hermes rescued [[Ares]] from a brazen vessel where he had been imprisoned by [[Aloadae|Otus and Ephialtes]]. In the ''[[Iliad]]'', Hermes is called "the bringer of good luck", "guide and guardian", and "excellent in all the tricks". He was a divine ally of the Greeks against the Trojans, but he also protected [[Priam]] when he went to the Greek camp to retrieve the body of his son [[Hector]] and accompanied them back to Troy.<ref name="ReferenceC" /> In the ''Odyssey'', Hermes helps the protagonist Odysseus by informing him about the fate of his companions, who were turned into animals by the power of [[Circe]]. Hermes instructed Odysseus to protect himself by chewing [[Moly (herb)|a magic herb]]; he also told [[Calypso (mythology)|Calypso]] of Zeus's order to free Odysseus from her island to allow him to continue his journey back home. When Odysseus killed the suitors of his wife, Hermes led their souls to Hades.<ref>Homer. ''The Odyssey''. Plain Label Books, 1990. Trans. [[Samuel Butler (novelist)|Samuel Butler]]. pp. 40, 81–82, 192–195.</ref>

[[File:Hermes Maia Staatliche Antikensammlungen 2304.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Hermes with his mother Maia. Detail of the side B of an Attic red-figure belly-amphora, c. 500 BC.]]

====Athenian tragic playwrights====
[[Aeschylus]] wrote in ''[[The Eumenides]]'' that Hermes helped [[Orestes]] kill [[Clytemnestra]] under a false identity and other stratagems,<ref name="Brown" /> and also said that he was the god of searches, and those who seek things lost or stolen.<ref>Aeschylus, ''Suppliant Women'' 919. Quoted in ''[http://www.theoi.com/Olympios/HermesGod.html#Travel God of Searchers] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628223133/http://www.theoi.com/Olympios/HermesGod.html#Travel |date=28 June 2011 }}''. The Theoi Project: Greek Mythology.</ref> In ''[[Philoctetes (Sophocles)|Philoctetes]]'', [[Sophocles]] invokes Hermes when Odysseus needs to convince [[Philoctetes]] to join the [[Trojan War]] on the side of the Greeks, and in [[Euripides]]'s ''[[Rhesus (play)|Rhesus]]'' Hermes helps [[Dolon (mythology)|Dolon]] spy on the Greek navy.<ref name="Brown">{{cite book|author=Norman Oliver Brown | title=Hermes the Thief: The Evolution of a Myth|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BzNfeQSXKfcC|year=1990|publisher=Steiner Books|isbn=978-0-940262-26-3|pages=3–10}}</ref>

====Aesop====
[[Aesop]] featured him in several of his fables, as ruler of the gate of prophetic dreams, as the god of athletes, of edible roots, and of hospitality. He also said that Hermes had assigned each person his share of intelligence.<ref>Aesop. Fables 474, 479, 520, 522, 563, 564. Quoted in ''[http://www.theoi.com/Olympios/HermesGod.html#Sleep God of Dreams of Omen] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628223133/http://www.theoi.com/Olympios/HermesGod.html#Sleep |date=28 June 2011 }}; [http://www.theoi.com/Olympios/HermesGod.html#Contests God of Contests, Athletics, Gymnasiums, The Games] '', Theoi Project: Greek Mythology.</ref> One of the most notable fables in which Hermes appears is ''[[the Honest Woodcutter]]''.

===Hellenistic Greek sources===
[[File:Cameo Ptolemaic prince Bab111 CdM Paris.jpg|thumb|250px|[[Sardonyx]] [[Cameo (carving)|cameo]] of a [[Ptolemaic Kingdom|Ptolemaic prince]] as Hermes, [[Cabinet des médailles]], Paris]]

One of the Orphic Hymns Khthonios is dedicated to Hermes, indicating that he was also a god of the underworld. Aeschylus had called him by this epithet several times.<ref>''Orphic Hymn 57 to Chthonian Hermes Aeschylus''. Libation Bearers. Cited in ''Guide of the Dead''. The Theoi Project: Greek Mythology.</ref> Another is the Orphic Hymn to Hermes, where his association with the athletic games held is mystic in tone.<ref>''Orphic Hymn 28 to Hermes''. Quoted in ''God of Contests, Athletics, Gymnasiums, The Games''. The Theoi Project: Greek Mythology.</ref>

[[Phlegon of Tralles]] said Hermes was invoked to ward off ghosts,<ref>Phlegon of Tralles. ''Book of Marvels'', 2.1. Quoted in ''[http://www.theoi.com/Olympios/HermesGod.html#GuideDead Guide of the Dead] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628223133/http://www.theoi.com/Olympios/HermesGod.html#GuideDead |date=28 June 2011 }}''. The Theoi Project: Greek Mythology.</ref> and Apollodorus reports several events involving Hermes. According to Apollodorus, Hermes participated in the [[Gigantomachy]] in defense of Olympus;<ref>[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg001.perseus-eng1:1.6.2 1.6.2].</ref> was given the task of bringing baby [[Dionysus]] to be cared for by Ino and Athamas and later took him to be cared for by the [[Nysa (mythology)|Nysan]] nymphs, later called the [[Hyades (mythology)|Hyades]];<ref>[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg001.perseus-eng1:3.4.3 3.4.3]{{Dead link|date=July 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}.</ref> aided [[Perseus]] in fetching the head of the [[Gorgon]] [[Medusa]],<ref>[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg002.perseus-eng1:2.4.2 2.4.2].</ref> favored the young Heracles by giving him a sword when he finished his education;<ref>[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg001.perseus-eng1:2.4.12 2.4.12].</ref> and lead [[Hera]], [[Athena]] and [[Aphrodite]] to [[Paris (mythology)|Paris]] to be judged by him in a beauty contest.<ref>[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg002.perseus-eng1:e.3.2 E.3.2]{{Dead link|date=July 2024|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}.</ref>

[[Anyte of Tegea]] of the 3rd century BC,<ref>{{cite book|last=Yao|first=Steven G.|author-link=Steven G. Yao|title=Translation and the Languages of Modernism: Gender, Politics, Language|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vXtmlxi7nCwC&pg=PA89|year=2002|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|isbn=978-0-312-29519-6|page=89}}</ref> in the translation by [[Richard Aldington]], wrote, "I Hermes stand here at the crossroads by the wind beaten orchard, near the hoary grey coast; and I keep a resting place for weary men. And the cool stainless spring gushes out."<ref>{{cite book|last=Benstock|first=Shari|author-link=Shari Benstock|title=Women of the Left Bank: Paris, 1900-1940|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nZIQXE7bZfsC&pg=PA323|year=2010|publisher=University of Texas Press|isbn=978-0-292-78298-3|page=323}}</ref>

===Lovers, victims and children===
[[File:Lekythos Hermes Herse MAN.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Hermes pursuing a woman, probably [[Herse]]. Attic red-figure amphora, c. 470 BC.]]

*[[Peitho]], the goddess of seduction and persuasion, was said by [[Nonnus]] to be the wife of Hermes.<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://www.theoi.com/Text/NonnusDionysiaca8.html|title=Dionysiaca|last=Nonnus|pages=8. 220 ff}}</ref>
*[[Aphrodite]], the goddess of love and beauty, was wooed by Hermes. After she had rejected him, Hermes sought the help of [[Zeus]] to seduce her. Zeus, out of pity, sent his eagle to take away Aphrodite's sandal when she was bathing, and gave it to Hermes. When Aphrodite came looking for the sandal, Hermes seduced her. They had a child, [[Hermaphroditus]].<ref>Pseudo-Hyginus, Astronomica 2. 16</ref>
*Daeira, an Oceanid and an underworld goddess, mated with Hermes and gave birth to a son named Eleusis.<ref>Pausanias, Description of Greece [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160%3Abook%3D1%3Achapter%3D38%3Asection%3D7 1.38.7].</ref>
*[[Apemosyne]], a princess of Crete, was travelling to Rhodes one day with her brother [[Althaemenes]]. Hermes saw her and fell in love with her, but Apemosyne fled from him. Hermes could not catch her because she ran faster than him. The god then devised a plan and laid some freshly skinned hides across her path. Later, on her way back from a spring, Apemosyne slipped on those hides and fell. At that moment, Hermes caught her and raped her. When Apemosyne told her brother what had happened, he became angry, thinking that she was lying about being molested by the god. In his anger, he kicked her to death.<ref>Apollodorus, Bibliotheca 3. 2</ref>
*[[Chione (daughter of Daedalion)|Chione]], a princess of Phokis, attracted the attention of Hermes. He used his wand to put her to sleep and slept with her. To Hermes she bore a son, [[Autolycus]].<ref>Ovid, Metamorphoses 11. 301; Pausanias, Description of Greece 4. 8. 6</ref>
*[[Herse of Athens|Herse]], an Athenian princess, was loved by Hermes and bore a son named Cephalus to him. 
*[[Iphthime]], a princess of Doros, was loved by Hermes. They had three Satyroi – named Pherespondos, Lykos and Pronomos.
*Penelopeia, an Arcadian nymph, was loved by Hermes. It is said that Hermes had sex with her in the form of a goat, which resulted in their son, the god [[Pan (god)|Pan]], having goat legs.<ref>Lucian, ''Dialogues of the Gods'' 2</ref> She has been confused or conflated with [[Penelope]], the wife of [[Odysseus]].
*The [[Oread]]s, the nymphs of the mountains were said to mate with Hermes in the highlands, breeding more of their kind.<ref>Homeric Hymn 5 to Aphrodite 256</ref>
*[[Tanagra (mythology)|Tanagra]] was a nymph for whom the gods [[Ares]] and Hermes competed in a boxing match. Hermes won and carried her off to Tanagra in Boeotia.

According to Hyginus's ''[[Fabulae|Fabula]]'', [[Pan (mythology)|Pan]], the Greek god of nature, shepherds and flocks, is the son of Hermes through the nymph [[Dryope]].<ref>Hyginus, ''[[Fabulae|Fabula]]'' 160, makes Hermes the father of Pan.</ref> It is likely that the worship of Hermes himself actually originated as an aspect of Pan as the god of boundaries, which could explain their association as parent and child in Hyginus. In other sources, the god [[Priapus]] is understood as a son of Hermes.<ref>[[Karl Kerényi]], ''Gods of the Greeks'', 1951, p. 175, citing G. Kaibel, ''Epigrammata graeca ex lapidibus collecta'', 817, where the other god's name, both father and son of Hermes, is obscured; according to other sources, Priapus was a son of Dionysus and Aphrodite.</ref>

According to the mythographer [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [[Autolycus]], the Prince of Thieves, was a son of Hermes and [[Chione (daughter of Daedalion)|Chione]], making Hermes a great-grandfather of [[Odysseus]].<ref>''[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]]'' [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg001.perseus-eng1:1.9.16 1.9.16].</ref>

[[File:Hermes warrior Louvre G515.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Hermes and a young warrior. Bendis Painter, c. 370 BC.]]
Once, Hermes chased either [[Persephone]] or [[Hecate]] with the aim to rape her; but the goddess snored or roared in anger, frightening him off so that he desisted, hence her earning the name "[[Brimo]]" ("angry").<ref>[[John Tzetzes|Tzetzes]] ad [[Lycophron]], [https://books.google.com/books?id=DDxEAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA29 1176] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230210100802/https://books.google.com/books?id=DDxEAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA29 |date=10 February 2023 }}; Heslin, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=WhJbDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA39 39] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230210100802/https://books.google.com/books?id=WhJbDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA39 |date=10 February 2023 }}</ref>

Hermes also loved young men in [[Pederasty in ancient Greece|pederastic relationships]] where he bestowed or taught something related to combat, athletics, herding, poetry and music. [[Photius]] wrote that [[Castor and Pollux|Polydeuces (Pollux)]], one of the Dioscuri, was a lover of Hermes, to whom he gifted the Thessalian horse Dotor.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://topostext.org/work/237#190.50 |title=Photius, Bibliotheca excerpts, 190.50 |access-date=11 April 2020 |archive-date=21 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210121002207/https://topostext.org/work/237#190.50 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://remacle.org/bloodwolf/erudits/photius/ptolemee.htm |title=Photius, Bibliotheca excerpts - GR |access-date=11 April 2020 |archive-date=4 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210204223756/http://remacle.org/bloodwolf/erudits/photius/ptolemee.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Amphion and Zethus|Amphion]] became a great singer and musician after his lover Hermes taught him to play and gave him a golden lyre.<ref>Philostratus the Elder, ''Imagines'' 1. 10</ref> [[Crocus (mythology)|Crocus]] was said to be a beloved of Hermes and was accidentally killed by the god in a game of [[discus]] when he unexpectedly stood up; as the unfortunate youth's blood dripped on the soil, the [[saffron]] flower came to be.{{sfn|Miller|Strauss Clay|2019|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=UviFDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA133 133]}} [[Perseus]] received the divine items ([[talaria]], [[petasos]], and the [[Cap of invisibility|helm of darkness]]) from Hermes because he loved him.<ref>Pseudo-Hyginus, ''[[De astronomia]]'' [https://topostext.org/work/207#2.12.1 2.12] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210815135348/https://topostext.org/work/207#2.12.1 |date=15 August 2021 }}.</ref> And [[Daphnis]], a Sicilian shepherd who was said to be the inventor of [[Pastoral#Pastoral poetry|pastoral poetry]], is said to be a son or sometimes ''[[eromenos]]'' of Hermes.<ref>[[Claudius Aelianus|Aelian]], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2008.01.0591%3Abook%3D10%3Achapter%3D18 ''Varia Historia'' 10.18] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220920163414/https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:2008.01.0591:book%3D10:chapter%3D18 |date=20 September 2022 }}</ref>

====List of offspring====
The following is a list of Hermes's offspring, by various mothers. Beside each offspring, the earliest source to record the parentage is given, along with the century to which the source (in some cases approximately) dates.
<div style=display:inline-table>
{{sticky header}}
{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed sticky-header"
! scope="col" style="width: 95pt;" |Offspring
! scope="col" style="width: 105pt;" |Mother
! scope="col" style="width: 60pt;" |Source
! scope="col" style="width: 70pt;" |Date
! class="unsortable" scope="col" style="width: 10pt;" |
|-
|[[Cydon]]
|[[Acacallis (mythology)|Acacallis]]
|[[Pausanias (geographer)|Paus.]]
|data-sort-value=19|2nd cent. AD
|<ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], ''[[Description of Greece]]'', [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160%3Abook%3D8%3Achapter%3D53%3Asection%3D4 8.53.4]; Tripp, s.v. Acacallis.</ref>
|-
|rowspan="3"|[[Ceryx]]
|[[Aglaurus]]
|[[Pausanias (geographer)|Paus.]]
|data-sort-value=19|2nd cent. AD
|<ref>''Brill's New Pauly'', s.v. Aglaurus; [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], ''[[Description of Greece]]'' [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0525.tlg001.perseus-eng1:1.38.3 1.38.3].</ref>
|-
|[[Herse]]
|
|data-sort-value=50|
|<ref>''Brill's New Pauly'', s.v. Herse.</ref>
|-
|[[Pandrosus]]
|
|data-sort-value=50|
|
|-
|[[Bounos]]
|[[Alcidamea|Alcidameia]]
|[[Pausanias (geographer)|Paus.]]
|data-sort-value=19|2nd cent. AD
|<ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160%3Abook%3D2%3Achapter%3D3%3Asection%3D10 2.3.10].</ref>
|-
|rowspan="2"|[[Echion]]
|[[Antianeira (daughter of Menelaus)|Antianeira]]
|
|data-sort-value=50|
|<ref>''Brill's New Pauly'', s.v. Echion (2).</ref>
|-
|[[Laothoe]]
|''[[Orphic Argonautica|Orph. Arg.]]''
|data-sort-value=23|4th cent. AD
|<ref>Smith, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0104:entry=echion-bio-2 s.v. Echion (2)]; ''[[Orphic Argonautica]]'' 132&ndash;6 (Vian, p. 83).</ref>
|-
|[[Eurytus]]
|[[Antianeira (daughter of Menelaus)|Antianeira]]
|
|data-sort-value=50|
|<ref>Smith, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0104:entry=eurytus-bio-3 s.v. Eurytus (3)].</ref>
|-
|[[Hermaphroditus]]
|[[Aphrodite]]
|[[Diodorus Siculus|Diod. Sic.]]
|data-sort-value=15|1st cent. BC
|<ref>Gantz, p. 104; [[Diodorus Siculus]], [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Diodorus_Siculus/4A*.html#6.5 4.6.5].</ref>
|-
|[[Astacus (mythology)|Astacus]]
|[[Astabe]]
|
|data-sort-value=50|
|
|-
|rowspan="4"|[[Autolycus]]
|[[Philonis]]
|[[Hesiod|Hes.]] ''[[Catalogue of Women|Cat.]]''
|data-sort-value=5|6th cent. BC
|<ref>Gantz, p. 109; [[Hesiod]], ''[[Catalogue of Women]]'' [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/hesiod-catalogue_women/2018/pb_LCL503.141.xml fr. 65 (Most, pp. 138&ndash;41)]; ''[[Brill's New Jacoby|BNJ]]'' [https://scholarlyeditions-brill-com.wikipedialibrary.idm.oclc.org/reader/urn:cts:greekLit:fgrh.0003.bnjo-3-tr1-eng:f120 3 F120] [= Scholia on [[Homer]]'s ''[[Odyssey]]'', 19.432].</ref>
|-
|[[Chione (daughter of Daedalion)|Chione]]
|Hyg. ''[[Fabulae|Fab.]]''
|data-sort-value=17|1st cent. AD
|<ref>Hyginus, ''[[Fabulae]]'' [https://topostext.org/work/201 201].</ref>
|-
|[[Stilbe]]
|Schol. ''[[Iliad|Il.]]''
|data-sort-value=50|
|<ref>''[[Pauly-Wissowa|RE]]'', [https://elexikon.ch/RE/IIIA,2_2521.png s.v. Stilbe (2)]; Scholia on [[Homer]], ''[[Iliad]]'', 10.266.</ref>
|-
|[[Telauge]]
|[[Eustathius of Thessalonica|Eustathius]]
|data-sort-value=39|12th cent. AD
|<ref>''[[Pauly-Wissowa|RE]]'', [https://elexikon.ch/RE/IIIA,2_2521.png s.v. Stilbe (2)].</ref>
|-
|rowspan="6"|[[Myrtilus]]
|[[Cleobule]]
|
|data-sort-value=50|
|
|-
|[[Clymene (mythology)|Clymene]]
|[[Pherecydes of Athens|Pherecydes]]
|data-sort-value=7|5th cent. BC
|<ref>''[[Brill's New Jacoby|BNJ]]'' 3 F37a [= Scholia on [[Apollonius of Rhodes]], 1.752-8a].</ref>
|-
|[[Clytie]]
|Hyg. ''[[De astronomia|De astr.]]''
|data-sort-value=16|1st cent. BC/AD
|<ref>Hyginus, ''[[De astronomia]]'' [https://topostext.org/work/207#2.13.4 2.13.4].</ref>
|-
|[[Myrto (Amazon)|Myrto]]
|[[Pherecydes of Athens|Pherecydes]]
|data-sort-value=7|5th cent. BC
|<ref name="ReferenceE">''Brill's New Pauly'', s.v. Myrtilus (1); ''[[Brill's New Jacoby|BNJ]]'' 3 F37a [= Scholia on [[Apollonius of Rhodes]], 1.752-8a].</ref>
|-
|[[Danaïdes|Phaethusa]]
|[[Pherecydes of Athens|Pherecydes]]
|data-sort-value=7|5th cent. BC
|<ref name="ReferenceE"/>
|-
|[[Theobule]]
|Hyg. ''[[Fabulae|Fab.]]''
|data-sort-value=17|1st cent. AD
|<ref>''Brill's New Pauly'', s.v. Myrtilus (1); Hyginus, ''[[Fabulae]]'' [https://topostext.org/work/206#224 224].</ref>
|-
|[[Polybus of Sicyon|Polybus]]
|[[Chthonophyle]]
|[[Pausanias (geographer)|Paus.]]
|data-sort-value=19|2nd cent. AD
|<ref>''Brill's New Pauly'', s.v. Polybus (3); [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0525.tlg001.perseus-eng1:2.6.6 2.6.6].</ref>
|-
|[[Eleusis (mythology)|Eleusis]]
|[[List of Oceanids|Daeira]]
|[[Pausanias (geographer)|Paus.]]
|data-sort-value=19|2nd cent. AD
|<ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160%3Abook%3D1%3Achapter%3D38%3Asection%3D7 1.38.7].</ref>
|-
|rowspan="2"|[[Pan (god)|Pan]]
|Daughter of [[Dryope]]
|''[[Homeric Hymn|HH]]'' 19
|data-sort-value=50|
|<ref>Gantz, p. 110; ''[[Homeric Hymn]] to Pan'' (19), [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0013.tlg019.perseus-eng1:1 34&ndash;9].</ref>
|-
|[[Penelope (mother of Pan)|Penelope]]
|[[Herodotus|Hdt.]]
|data-sort-value=7|5th cent. BC
|<ref>Hard, [https://books.google.com/books?id=r1Y3xZWVlnIC&pg=PA215 p. 215&ndash;6]; [[Herodotus]], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.perseus-eng1:2.145 2.145].</ref>
|-
|[[Norax]]
|[[Erytheia (mythology)|Erytheia]]
|[[Pausanias (geographer)|Paus.]]
|data-sort-value=19|2nd cent. AD
|<ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.+10.17.5 10.17.5]</ref>
|-
|[[Aethalides]]
|[[Eupolemeia]]
|Hyg. ''[[Fabulae|Fab.]]''
|data-sort-value=17|1st cent. AD
|<ref>Smith, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0104:entry=aethalides-bio-1 s.v. Aethalides]; Hyginus, ''[[Fabulae]]'' [https://topostext.org/work/206#14 14].</ref>
|-
|The [[Cephalonia]]ns
|[[Calypso (mythology)|Calypso]]
|[[Hesiod|Hes.]] ''[[Catalogue of Women|Cat.]]''
|data-sort-value=5|6th cent. BC
|<ref>[[Hesiod]], ''[[Catalogue of Women]]'' [https://books.google.com/books?id=CgGbIKguHwsC&pg=PA173 fr. 98 Most (pp. 172, 173)] [= fr. 150 Merkelbach-West].</ref>
|-
|[[Daphnis]]
|Unnamed nymph
|[[Diodorus Siculus|Diod. Sic.]]
|data-sort-value=15|1st cent. BC
|<ref>Hard, p. 211; [[Diodorus Siculus]], [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Diodorus_Siculus/4D*.html#84.2 4.84.2].</ref>
|-
|[[Cephalus of Athens|Cephalus]]
|[[Herse]]
|[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollod.]]
|data-sort-value=18|1st/2nd cent. AD
|<ref>''Brill's New Pauly'', s.v. Herse; [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg001.perseus-eng1:3.14.3 3.14.3].</ref>
|-
|[[Gigas (Greek myth)|Gigas]]
|[[Hiereia]]
|[[Tzetzes]]
|data-sort-value=39|12th cent. AD
|<ref>''[[Pauly-Wissowa|RE]]'', [https://de.wikisource.org/wiki/RE:Gigas s.v. Gigas]; [[Tzetzes]] on [[Lycophron]], 42.</ref>
|-
|[[Evander of Pallene|Evander]]
|Themis
|[[Dionysius of Halicarnassus|Dion. Hal.]]
|data-sort-value=15|1st cent. BC
|<ref>[[Dionysius of Halicarnassus]], ''Roman Antiquities'', [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Dionysius_of_Halicarnassus/1B*.html#13.1 1.13.1], [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Dionysius_of_Halicarnassus/2A*.html#1.3 2.3.1].</ref>
|-
|[[Prylis (mythology)|Prylis]]
|[[Issa (mythology)|Issa]]
|Schol. [[Lycophron|Lyc.]]
|data-sort-value=50|
|<ref>''Brill's New Pauly'', s.v. Prylis (1); Scholia on [[Lycophron]]'s ''Alexandra'', 219&ndash;21.</ref>
|-
|[[Lycus (mythology)|Lycus]], [[Pherespondus]], [[Pronomus]]
|[[Iphthime]]
|[[Nonnus]]
|data-sort-value=7|5th cent. AD
|<ref>Allan, p. 28.</ref>
|-
|[[Libys (mythology)|Libys]]
|[[Libya (mythology)|Libye]]
|Hyg. ''[[Fabulae|Fab.]]''
|data-sort-value=17|1st cent. AD
|<ref>Hyginus, ''[[Fabulae]]'', [https://topostext.org/work/206#160 160].</ref>
|-
|[[Bakırçay|Caicus]]
|[[Ocyrhoe]]
|[[Pseudo-Plutarch|Ps.-Plut.]] ''[[De fluviis|Fluv.]]''
|data-sort-value=19|2nd cent. AD
|<ref>Smith, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0104:entry=caicus-bio-1 s.v. Caicus]; [[Pseudo-Plutarch]], ''[[De fluviis]]'' [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2008.01.0400%3Achapter%3D21 21.1].</ref>
|-
|[[Agreus|Nomios]]
|[[Penelope (dryad)]]
|
|data-sort-value=50|
|
|-
|[[Pharis (mythology)|Pharis]]
|[[Phylodameia]]
|[[Pausanias (geographer)|Paus.]]
|data-sort-value=19|2nd cent. AD
|<ref>Smith, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0104:entry=pharis-bio-1 s.v. Pharis (1)]; [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0525.tlg001.perseus-eng1:4.30.2 4.30.2].</ref>
|-
|[[Eudoros]]
|[[Polymele]]
|[[Homer|Hom.]] ''[[Iliad|Il.]]''
|data-sort-value=1|8th cent. BC
|<ref>Gantz, p. 107; [[Homer]], ''[[Iliad]]'' [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0134%3Abook%3D16%3Acard%3D155 16.179&ndash;186].</ref>
|-
|[[Saon (mythology)|Saon]]
|[[Rhene (mythology)|Rhene]]
|[[Diodorus Siculus|Diod. Sic.]]
|data-sort-value=15|1st cent. BC
|<ref>[[Diodorus Siculus]], ''Library of History'' 5.48.2.</ref>
|-
|[[Linus (mythology)|Linus]]
|[[Urania]]
|''[[Suda]]''
|data-sort-value=35|10th cent. AD
|<ref>''[[Suda]]'' [https://www.cs.uky.edu/~raphael/sol/sol-entries/lambda/568 λ 568].</ref>
|-
|[[Agreus]]
|[[Sose (mythology)|Sose]]
|
|data-sort-value=50|
|
|-
|[[Abderus]]
|Unnamed mortal woman
|[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollod.]]
|data-sort-value=18|1st/2nd cent. AD
|<ref>[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg001.perseus-eng1:2.5.8 2.5.8].</ref>
|-
|Arabus
|[[Thronia]]
|[[Hesiod|Hes.]] ''[[Catalogue of Women|Cat.]]''
|data-sort-value=5|6th cent. BC
|<ref>Parada, s.v. Arabus, p. 24; [[Hesiod]], ''[[Catalogue of Women]]'' [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/hesiod-catalogue_women/2018/pb_LCL503.173.xml fr. 88 Most (pp. 172, 173)] [= [[Strabo]], ''Geographica'' [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Strabo/1B2*.html#ref105 1.2.34]].</ref>
|-
|Damaskos
|Halimede
|[[Stephanus of Byzantium|Steph. Byz.]]
|data-sort-value=27|6th cent. AD
|<ref>[https://archive.org/details/STEPHANUSVONBYZANZMargaretheBillerbeckChristianZublerSTEPHANIBYZANTIIENICAIIpdf/page/9/mode/2up Stephanus of Byzantium, Ethnica, p.9, in German]</ref><ref>[https://topostext.org/work/241#D217.7 Stephanus of Byzantium, Ethnica, Damaskos, in original Greek]</ref>
|-
|[[Dolops]]
|rowspan="5"|''No mother mentioned''
|
|data-sort-value=50|
|<ref>Smith, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0104:entry=dolops-bio-1 s.v. Dolops].</ref>
|-
|[[Eurymachus]]
|Schol. ''[[Iliad|Il.]]''
|data-sort-value=50|
|<ref>''[[Pauly-Wissowa|RE]]'', [https://de.wikisource.org/wiki/RE:Eurymachos_1 s.v. Eurymachos (1)].</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last1=Köppen, Johann Heinrich Just|title=Erklärende Anmerkungen zu Homers Ilias|last2=Heinrich, Karl Friedrich|last3=Krause, Johann Christian Heinrich|year=1818|volume=2|pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=SoATAAAAQAAJ&dq=Eriboea+daughter+of+Eurymachus&pg=PA72 72]}}</ref>
|-
|[[Palaestra (mythology)#Palaestra, daughter of Hermes|Palaestra]]
|[[Philostratus the Elder|Philostr.]]
|data-sort-value=21|3rd cent. AD
|<ref>[[Philostratus the Elder]], ''[[Imagines (work by Philostratus)|Imagines]]'' [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/philostratus_elder-imagines_book_ii_32_palaestra/1931/pb_LCL256.263.xml 2.32.28&ndash;9 (pp. 262, 263)].</ref>
|-
|[[Angelia]]
|[[Pindar]]
|data-sort-value=7|5th cent. BC
|<ref>[[Pindar]], ''Olympian'' [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/pindar-olympian_odes/1997/pb_LCL056.145.xml 8.80&ndash;84].</ref>
|}
</div>

===Genealogy===
{{chart top|Hermes's family tree|collapsed=yes}}
{{tree chart/start}}
{{tree chart|}}
{{tree chart| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |URA |y|GAI |URA=[[Uranus (mythology)|Uranus]]|GAI=[[Gaia (mythology)|Gaia]]}}
{{tree chart| | | | | |,|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|^|-|-|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|.}}
{{tree chart|URA|F|IAP | |OCE |y|TET | | | | | | | |CRO |y|RHE |IAP=[[Iapetus (mythology)|Iapetus]]|OCE=[[Oceanus]]|TET=[[Tethys (mythology)|Tethys]]|URA=<small>Uranus's&nbsp;genitals</small>|CRO=[[Cronus]]|RHE=[[Rhea (mythology)|Rhea]]}}
{{tree chart| |!| |:| | | |,|-|-|-|(| | | |,|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|v|-|^|-|v|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|.}}
{{tree chart| |!| |L|~|y|CLY |F|PLE |F|ZEU |y|HER | |POS | |HAD | |DEM | |HES |CLY=[[Clymene (mythology)|Clymene]]<ref>According to [[Hesiod]]'s ''[[Theogony]]'' [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0020.tlg001.perseus-eng1:507-544 507–509] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210106101941/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0020.tlg001.perseus-eng1:507-544 |date=6 January 2021 }}, Atlas's mother was the [[Oceanid]] Clymene, later accounts have the Oceanid [[Asia (Oceanid)|Asia]] as his mother, see [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg001.perseus-eng1:1.2.3 1.2.3] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200914144847/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hes.+Th.+351 |date=14 September 2020 }}.</ref>|PLE=[[Pleione (mythology)|Pleione]]|HES=[[Hestia]]|DEM=[[Demeter]]|ZEU=[[Zeus]]|HER=[[Hera]]|HAD=[[Hades]]|POS=[[Poseidon]]}}
{{tree chart| |!| | | |!| | | |:| | | |:| |,|-|^|.| |!}}
{{tree chart| |!| | |ATL |y|~|J| | | |:| |!| |AAA |!|ATL=[[Atlas (mythology)|Atlas]]|AAA=a<ref>According to [[Homer]], ''[[Iliad]]'' [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0012.tlg001.perseus-eng1:1.570 1.570–579] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210502110214/http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0012.tlg001.perseus-eng1:1.570 |date=2 May 2021 }}, [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0012.tlg001.perseus-eng1:14.338 14.338], ''[[Odyssey]]'' [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0012.tlg002.perseus-eng1:8.312 8.312], Hephaestus was apparently the son of Hera and Zeus, see Gantz, p. 74.</ref>|border_AAA=0}}
{{tree chart|border=0| |!| | | | | |!| | | | | |:| |!| | |!|BBB |BBB=b<ref>According to [[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hes.+Th.+927 927–929] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227125027/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hes.+Th.+927 |date=27 February 2021 }}, Hephaestus was produced by Hera alone, with no father, see Gantz, p. 74.</ref>}}
{{tree chart| |!| | | | |MAI |~|y|~|~|C| |!| | |!| |!|MAI=[[Maia (mythology)|Maia]]}}
{{tree chart| |!| | | | | | | | |!| | |:|ARE | |HEP |ARE=[[Ares]]|HEP=[[Hephaestus]]}}
{{tree chart| |!| | | | | | | |HER | |D|~|~|~|y|~|~|~|~|MET |HER='''Hermes'''|MET=[[Metis (mythology)|Metis]]}}
{{tree chart| |!| | | | | | | | | | | |:| | |ATH |ATH=[[Athena]]<ref>According to [[Hesiod]]'s ''[[Theogony]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hes.+Th.+886 886–890] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160505141442/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hes.+Th.+886 |date=5 May 2016 }}, of Zeus's children by his seven wives, Athena was the first to be conceived, but the last to be born; Zeus impregnated Metis then swallowed her, later Zeus himself gave birth to Athena "from his head", see Gantz, pp. 51–52, 83–84.</ref>}}
{{tree chart| |!| | | | | | | | | | | |D|~|~|~|y|~|~|~|~|LET |LET=[[Leto]]}}
{{tree chart| |!| | | | | | | | | | | |:| |,|-|^|-|.}}
{{tree chart| |!| | | | | | | | | | | |:|APO | |ART |APO=[[Apollo]]|ART=[[Artemis]]}}
{{tree chart| |!| | | | | | | | | | | |D|~|~|~|y|~|~|~|~|SEM |SEM=[[Semele]]}}
{{tree chart| |!| | | | | | | | | | | |:| | |DIO |DIO=[[Dionysus]]}}
{{tree chart| |!| | | | | | | | | | | |L|~|~|~|~|y|~|~|~|DIO |DIO=[[Dione (Titaness)|Dione]]}}
{{tree chart|border=0|AAA | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |BBB|AAA=a<ref>According to [[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hes.+Th.+183 183–200] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227064102/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hes.+Th.+183 |date=27 February 2021 }}, Aphrodite was born from Uranus's severed genitals, see Gantz, pp. 99–100.</ref>|BBB=b<ref>According to [[Homer]], Aphrodite was the daughter of Zeus (''[[Iliad]]'' [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0012.tlg001.perseus-eng1:3.374 3.374], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0012.tlg001.perseus-eng1:20.105 20.105] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181102225842/http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0012.tlg001.perseus-eng1:20.105 |date=2 November 2018 }}; ''[[Odyssey]]'' [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0012.tlg002.perseus-eng1:8.308 8.308] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181102224038/http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0012.tlg002.perseus-eng1:8.308 |date=2 November 2018 }}, [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0012.tlg002.perseus-eng1:8.320 320]) and Dione (''[[Iliad]]'' [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0012.tlg001.perseus-eng1:5.370 5.370–71] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221022122342/http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0012.tlg001.perseus-eng1:3.374 |date=22 October 2022 }}), see Gantz, pp. 99–100.</ref>}}
{{tree chart| |`|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|.| |!}}
{{tree chart| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |APH |APH=[[Aphrodite]]}}
{{tree chart/end}}
{{chart bottom}}

==In Jungian psychology==
[[File:Adolf Hirémy-Hirschl - Die Seelen am Acheron - 942 - Österreichische Galerie Belvedere.jpg|thumb|''Souls on the Banks of the Acheron'', oil painting depicting Hermes in the underworld. [[Adolf Hirémy-Hirschl]], 1898]]

For [[Carl Jung]], Hermes's role as messenger between realms and as guide to the underworld<ref>A Stevens, [https://books.google.com/books?id=ML8OAAAAQAAJ&dq=Hermes+psychiatry+psychology+of&pg=PA115 ''On Jung''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230412054918/https://books.google.com/books?id=ML8OAAAAQAAJ&dq=Hermes+psychiatry+psychology+of&pg=PA115 |date=12 April 2023 }}, Taylor & Francis, 1990.</ref> made him the god of the [[Unconscious mind|unconscious]],<ref name="DLM">{{cite journal |last1= Merritt|first1= Dennis L.|year= 1996–1997|title= Jung and the Greening of Psychology and Education|journal= Oregon Friends of C.G. Jung Newsletter|volume= 6|issue= 1|pages= 9, 12, 13}} ([http://www.dennismerrittjungiananalyst.com/Jung_and_Greening.htm Online.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120226151026/http://www.dennismerrittjungiananalyst.com/Jung_and_Greening.htm |date=26 February 2012 }})</ref> the mediator between the conscious and unconscious parts of the mind, and the guide for inner journeys.<ref>JC Miller, [https://books.google.com/books?id=F29B3MFVKW4C&dq=Hermes+and+the+unconscious&pg=PA108 The Transcendent Function: Jung's Model of Psychological Growth Through Dialogue With the Unconscious] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230412054914/https://books.google.com/books?id=F29B3MFVKW4C&dq=Hermes+and+the+unconscious&pg=PA108 |date=12 April 2023 }}, SUNY Press, 2004, {{ISBN|0-7914-5977-2}}.</ref><ref name="DAM"/>
Jung considered the gods Thoth and Hermes to be counterparts.<ref>H Yoshida, [https://books.google.com/books?id=EnJrPIgnBU8C&dq=Jung+and+Hermes&pg=PA153 Joyce and Jung: The "Four Stages of Eroticism" In a Portrait of the Artist As a Young Man] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230430003045/https://books.google.com/books?id=EnJrPIgnBU8C&dq=Jung+and+Hermes&pg=PA153 |date=30 April 2023 }}, Peter Lang, 2006, {{ISBN|0-8204-6913-0}}.</ref>
He emphasized Hermes's central role in the practice of medieval alchemy,<ref>Carl Gustav Jung and R.F.C. Hull, ''Alchemical Studies'', Routledge & Kegan Paul. (1967), §157.</ref> which Jung believed to be symbolic of the psychological process he called individuation.<ref>{{Cite thesis |last=Wagner |first=Christopher Franklin |date=2019-05-15 |title=Of Books and Fire: Approaching the Alchemy of Carl Gustav Jung |url=https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/290574 |language=en |doi=10.17863/CAM.37801}}</ref> In Jungian psychology especially,<ref>CG Jung, R Main, [https://books.google.com/books?id=usrGSaO7QosC&q=Hermes&pg=PR7 Jung on Synchronicity and the Paranormal] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230412054917/https://books.google.com/books?id=usrGSaO7QosC&q=Hermes&pg=PR7 |date=12 April 2023 }}, Routledge, 1997. {{ISBN|0-415-15509-6}}.</ref> Hermes is seen as relevant to study of the phenomenon of [[synchronicity]]<ref>HJ Hannan, [https://books.google.com/books?id=IS4zLWzIQPsC&dq=Hermes+god+of+synchronicity&pg=PA141 Initiation Through Trauma: A Comparative Study of the Descents of Inanna and Persephone: Dreaming Persephone Forward]{{Dead link|date=April 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, ProQuest, 2005, {{ISBN|0-549-47480-3}}.</ref> (together with [[Pan (god)|Pan]] and [[Dionysus]]):<ref>R Main, [https://books.google.com/books?id=v_1qS9rnLxAC&dq=Hermes+god+of+synchronicity&pg=PA3 Revelations of Chance: Synhronicity as Spiritual Experience] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230412055839/https://books.google.com/books?id=v_1qS9rnLxAC&dq=Hermes+god+of+synchronicity&pg=PA3 |date=12 April 2023 }}, SUNY Press, 2007, {{ISBN|0-7914-7023-7}}.</ref><ref>Gisela Labouvie-Viefn, [https://archive.org/details/psycheerosmindge0000labo/page/257 <!-- quote=Hermes god of synchronicity. --> Psyche and Eros: Mind and Gender in the Life Course] ''Psyche and Eros: Mind and Gender in the Life Course'', Cambridge University Press, 1994, {{ISBN|0-521-46824-8}}.</ref>

{{blockquote|Hermes is an archetypal figure, a potential in every human psyche ... |D. L. Merritt<ref name="DLM"/>}}

He is identified by some with the archetype of healer,<ref name="RLP">R López-Pedraza, [https://books.google.com/books?id=jbgS7lKycncC&dq=Hermes+psychiatry&pg=PA25 Hermes and His Children] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230412054906/https://books.google.com/books?id=jbgS7lKycncC&dq=Hermes+psychiatry&pg=PA25 |date=12 April 2023 }}, Daimon, 2003, p. 25, {{ISBN|3-85630-630-7}}.</ref> as the ancient Greeks ascribed healing magic to him.<ref name="DAM">DA McNeely, [https://books.google.com/books?id=YemNP0rXIfkC&dq=Hermes+is+the+healer&pg=PA86 ''Mercury Rising: Women, Evil, and the Trickster Gods''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230430003047/https://books.google.com/books?id=YemNP0rXIfkC&dq=Hermes%20is%20the%20healer&pg=PA86 |date=30 April 2023 }}, Fisher King Press, 2011, p. 86, {{ISBN|1-926715-54-3}}.</ref>

In the context of abnormal psychology Samuels (1986) states that Jung considers Hermes the archetype for narcissistic disorder; however, he lends the disorder a "positive" (beneficious) aspect, and represents both the good and bad of narcissism.<ref name="Andrew Samuels">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SI0OAAAAQAAJ&q=Hermes|author= A Samuels |title=Jung and the Post-Jungians|publisher=Taylor & Francis, 1986|isbn=0-7102-0864-2|date= 1986}}</ref>

For López-Pedraza, Hermes is the protector of psychotherapy.<ref>López-Pedraza 2003, p. 19.</ref> For McNeely, Hermes is a god of the healing arts.<ref>Allan Beveridge, [https://books.google.com/books?id=JKlnhKRlrqUC&dq=John+Rosen+psychotherapy&pg=PA97 ''Portrait of the Psychiatrist as a Young Man: The Early Writing and Work of R.D. Laing, 1927–1960'' (p. 88)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230430003049/https://books.google.com/books?id=JKlnhKRlrqUC&dq=John+Rosen+psychotherapy&pg=PA97 |date=30 April 2023 }}, ''International Perspectives in Philosophy and Psychiatry'', OUP, {{ISBN|0-19-958357-9}}.</ref>

According to [[Christopher Booker]], all the roles that Hermes held in ancient Greek thought, all considered, reveal Hermes to be a guide or observer of [[wikt:transition|transition]].<ref>[[Christopher Booker]], [[The Seven Basic Plots|The Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell Stories]], Continuum International Publishing Group, 2004, {{ISBN|0-8264-5209-4}}.</ref>

For Jung, Hermes's role as [[trickster]] made him a guide through the psychotherapeutic process.<ref name="DAM"/>

==Hermes in popular culture==
:''See [[Greek mythology in popular culture]]''

==See also==
* [[Hermes Trismegistus]]
* [[Family tree of the Greek gods]]

==References==

===Citations===
{{Reflist|25em}}

===Bibliography===
{{refbegin}}
* Allen, Arlene, ''Hermes'', Routledge, 2018. {{ISBN|978-0-367-49660-9}}.
* [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], ''Apollodorus, The Library, with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R.S. in 2 Volumes.'' Cambridge, Massachusetts, [[Harvard University Press]]; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921. {{ISBN|0-674-99135-4}}. [http://data.perseus.org/texts/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg001.perseus-eng1 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library].
* {{cite book |last1=Burkert |first1=Walter |title=Greek religion |date=1985 |publisher=Harvard University Press |location=Cambridge, Mass |isbn=0-674-36281-0|oclc=11517555}}
* [[Diodorus Siculus]], ''[[Bibliotheca Historica|Library of History]], Volume I: Books 1-2.34'', translated by [[Charles Henry Oldfather|C. H. Oldfather]], [[Loeb Classical Library]] No. 279, Cambridge, Massachusetts, [[Harvard University Press]], 1933. {{ISBN|978-0-674-99307-5}}. [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/LCL279/1933/volume.xml Online version at Harvard University Press]. [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Diodorus_Siculus/home.html Online version by Bill Thayer].
* {{cite book |title=The History and Practice of Ancient Astronomy |first=James |last=Evans |publisher=Oxford University Press |date=1998  |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nS51_7qbEWsC |access-date=4 February 2008 |isbn=978-0-19-509539-5}}
* Gantz, Timothy, ''Early Greek Myth: A Guide to Literary and Artistic Sources'', Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996, Two volumes: {{ISBN|978-0-8018-5360-9}} (Vol. 1), {{ISBN|978-0-8018-5362-3}} (Vol. 2).
* Hard, Robin, ''The Routledge Handbook of Greek Mythology: Based on H.J. Rose's "Handbook of Greek Mythology"'', Psychology Press, 2004. {{ISBN|978-0-415-18636-0}}. [https://books.google.com/books?id=r1Y3xZWVlnIC&printsec=frontcover Google Books].
* [[Herodotus]], ''[[The Histories of Herodotus|Histories]]'', translated by [[A. D. Godley]], Cambridge, Massachusetts, [[Harvard University Press]], 1920. {{ISBN|0674991338}}. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hdt.+1.1.0 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library].
* [[Hesiod]], ''[[Catalogue of Women]]'', in ''Hesiod: The Shield, Catalogue of Women, Other Fragments'', edited and translated by [[Glenn W. Most]], [[Loeb Classical Library]] No. 503, Cambridge, Massachusetts, [[Harvard University Press]], 2007, 2018. {{ISBN|978-0-674-99721-9}}. [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/LCL503/2018/volume.xml Online version at Harvard University Press].
* [[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'', in ''The Homeric Hymns and Homerica with an English Translation by Hugh G. Evelyn-White'', Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1914. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0130%3Acard%3D1 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library].
* [[Hesiod]], ''[[Shield of Heracles|The Shield]]. [[Catalogue of Women]]. Other Fragments. Edited and translated by Glenn W. Most''. [[Loeb Classical Library]] 503. Cambridge, MA: [[Harvard University Press]], 2007, {{ISBN|978-0674996236}}.
* [[Homer]], ''The Iliad with an English Translation by A.T. Murray, PhD in two volumes''. Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1924. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0134%3Abook%3D1%3Acard%3D1 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library].
* [[Homer]]; ''The Odyssey with an English Translation by A.T. Murray, PH.D. in two volumes''. Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1919. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0136%3Abook%3D1%3Acard%3D1 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library].
* ''[[Homeric Hymns|Homeric Hymn]]'' 19 ''to Pan'', in ''The Homeric Hymns and Homerica with an English Translation by Hugh G. Evelyn-White'', Cambridge, Massachusetts, [[Harvard University Press]]; London, William Heinemann Ltd., 1914. [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0013.tlg019.perseus-eng1:1 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library].
* Hyginus, ''[[De astronomia]]'', in ''The Myths of Hyginus'', edited and translated by Mary A. Grant, Lawrence: University of Kansas Press, 1960. [https://topostext.org/work/207 Online version at ToposText].
* Hyginus, ''[[Fabulae]]'', in ''The Myths of Hyginus'', edited and translated by Mary A. Grant, Lawrence: University of Kansas Press, 1960. [https://topostext.org/work/206 Online version at ToposText].
* Lay, M. G., James E. Vance Jr.; ''Ways of the World: A History of the World's Roads and of the Vehicles That Used Them'', Rutgers University Press, 1992, {{ISBN|0-8135-2691-4}}.
* Merkelbach, R., and [[Martin Litchfield West|M. L. West]], ''Fragmenta Hesiodea'', [[Clarendon Press]] Oxford, 1967. {{ISBN|978-0-198-14171-6}}.
* {{cite book | title = Tracking Hermes, Pursuing Mercury | first1 = John F. | last1 = Miller | first2 = Jenny | last2 = Strauss Clay | date = 2019 | publisher = [[Oxford University Press]] | isbn = 978-0-19-877734-2 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=UviFDwAAQBAJ | access-date = 16 September 2022 | archive-date = 19 January 2023 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230119180712/https://books.google.com/books?id=UviFDwAAQBAJ | url-status = live }}
* Parada, Carlos, ''Genealogical Guide to Greek Mythology'', Jonsered, Paul Åströms Förlag, 1993. {{ISBN|978-91-7081-062-6}}.
* [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], ''Pausanias Description of Greece with an English Translation by W.H.S. Jones, Litt.D., and H.A. Ormerod, M.A., in 4 Volumes.'' Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1918. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.+1.1.1 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library].
* {{cite book |last1=Powell |first1=Barry B. |title=Classical myth |date=2015 |publisher=Pearson |location=Boston |isbn=978-0-321-96704-6 |edition=Eighth|oclc=858159301}}
* [[Philostratus the Elder]], ''[[Imagines (work by Philostratus)|Imagines]]'', in ''Philostratus the Elder, Imagines. Philostratus the Younger, Imagines. Callistratus, Descriptions'', translated by Arthur Fairbanks, [[Loeb Classical Library]] No. 256, Cambridge, Massachusetts, [[Harvard University Press]], 1931. {{ISBN|978-06-749-9282-5}}. [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/LCL256/1931/volume.xml Online version at Harvard University Press]. [https://archive.org/stream/imagines00philuoft#page/n9/mode/2up Internet Archive (1926 edition)].
* [[Pseudo-Plutarch]], ''De fluviis'', in ''Plutarch's morals, Volume V'', edited and translated by [[William Watson Goodwin]], Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1874. [http://data.perseus.org/texts/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0094.tlg001.perseus-eng1 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library].
* [[William Smith (lexicographer)|Smith, William]], ''[[Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology]]'', London (1873). [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3atext%3a1999.04.0104 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library].
* Tripp, Edward, ''Crowell's Handbook of Classical Mythology'', Thomas Y. Crowell Co; First edition (June 1970). {{ISBN|069022608X}}.
* Vian, Francis, ''Les Argonautiques orphiques'', ''[[Collection Budé]]'', Paris, [[Les Belles Lettres]], 2003. {{ISBN|978-2-251-00389-4}}.
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
*Baudy, Gerhard, and Anne Ley. 2006. "Hermes." In ''Der Neue Pauly''. Vol 5. Edited by Hubert Cancik and Helmuth Schneider. Stuttgart, and Weimar, Germany: Verlag J. B. Metzler.
* Bungard, Christopher. 2011. "Lies, Lyres, and Laughter: Surplus Potential in the Homeric Hymn to Hermes." ''Arethusa'' 44.2: 143–165.
* Bungard, Christopher. 2012. "Reconsidering Zeus' Order: The Reconciliation of Apollo and Hermes." ''The Classical World'' 105.4: 433–469.
* Fowden, Garth. 1993. ''The Egyptian Hermes. A Historical Approach to the Late Pagan Mind.'' Princeton, NJ: Princeton Univ. Press.
* Johnston, Sarah Iles. 2002. "Myth, Festival, and Poet: The Homeric Hymn to Hermes and its Performative Context." ''Classical Philology'' 97:109–132.
* Kessler-Dimini, Elizabeth. 2008. "Tradition and Transmission: Hermes Kourotrophos in Nea Paphos, Cyprus." In ''Antiquity in Antiquity: Jewish and Christian Pasts in the Greco-Roman World.'' Edited by Gregg Gardner and K. L. Osterloh, 255–285. Tübingen, Germany: Mohr Siebeck.
* {{cite book |last=Kuhle |first=Antje | title = Hermes und die Bürger. Der Hermeskult in den griechischen Poleis| date = 2020| publisher = Franz Steiner|location=Stuttgart | isbn = 978-3-515-12809-4}}
* Russo, Joseph. 2000. "Athena and Hermes in Early Greek Poetry: Doubling and Complementarity." In Poesia e religione in Grecia. Studi in onore di G. Aurelio Privitera. Vol. 2. Edited by Maria Cannatà Ferra and S. Grandolini, 595–603. Perugia, Italy: Edizioni Scientifiche Italiane.
* Schachter, Albert. 1986. ''Cults of Boiotia. Vol. 2, Heracles to Poseidon.'' London: Institute of Classical Studies.
* Thomas, Oliver. 2010. "Ancient Greek Awareness of Child Language Acquisition". ''Glotta'' 86: 185–223.
* van Bladel, Kevin. 2009. ''The Arabic Hermes: From Pagan Sage to Prophet of Science. Oxford Studies in Late Antiquity.'' Oxford/New York: Oxford University Press.

==External links==
{{Wiktionary|Hermes}}
{{Wikiquote}}
{{Library resources box |by=no |onlinebooks=yes |others=yes |about=yes |label=Hermes
 |viaf= |lcheading= |wikititle= }}
* {{Commons category-inline|Hermes}}
* [http://www.theoi.com/Olympios/Hermes.html Theoi Project, Hermes] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190405173728/https://www.theoi.com/Olympios/Hermes.html |date=5 April 2019 }} stories from original sources & images from classical art
* [http://www.theoi.com/Cult/HermesCult.html Cult of Hermes] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230903215926/https://www.theoi.com/Cult/HermesCult.html |date=3 September 2023 }}
* [http://www.men-myths-minds.com/Hermes-greek-god.html The Myths of Hermes] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091219163120/http://www.men-myths-minds.com/Hermes-greek-god.html |date=19 December 2009 }}
* [http://www.csun.edu/~hcfll004/mycen.html Ventris and Chadwick: Gods found in Mycenaean Greece] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181001091024/http://www.csun.edu/~hcfll004/mycen.html |date=1 October 2018 }}: a table drawn up from Michael Ventris and John Chadwick, ''Documents in Mycenaean Greek'' second edition (Cambridge 1973)
* [https://iconographic.warburg.sas.ac.uk/category/vpc-taxonomy-000096 The Warburg Institute Iconographic Database (images of Hermes)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230709172446/https://iconographic.warburg.sas.ac.uk/category/vpc-taxonomy-000096 |date=9 July 2023 }}

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