HERMES (HUR-meez; Roman
name Mercury) was the messenger
of the gods and guide of dead souls
to the Underworld. A prankster and
inventive genius from birth, Hermes
aided the heroes Odysseus and
Perseus in their quests.
Hermes was the son Zeus and a
mountain nymph. As a newborn he
was remarkably precocious. On his
very first day of life, he found the
empty shell of a tortoise and
perceived its utility as a sounding
chamber. Stringing sinews across it,
he created the first lyre.
Hermes was known for his
helpfulness to mankind, both in his
capacity as immortal herald and on
his own initiative. When Perseus set
out to face the Gorgon Medusa,
Hermes aided him in the quest.
According to one version of the
myth, he loaned the hero his own
magic sandals, which conferred upon
the wearer the ability to fly.
Some say that Hermes loaned
Perseus a helmet of invisibility as
well. Also known as the helmet of
darkness, this was the same
headgear that Hermes himself had
worn when he vanquished the giant
Hippolytus. This was on the occasion
when the gargantuan sons of Earth
rose up in revolt against the gods of
Olympus.
Hermes' symbol of office as divine
messenger was his staff, or caduceus.
This was originally a willow wand
with entwined ribbons, traditional
badge of the herald. But the ribbons
were eventually depicted as snakes.
To support this mythologically, a
story evolved that Hermes used the
caduceus to separate two fighting
snakes which forthwith twined
themselves together in peace.
It was Hermes' job to convey dead
souls to the Underworld. And as
patron of travelers, he was often
shown in a wide-brimmed sun hat of
straw. Hermes was known to the
Romans as Mercury. His most
famous depiction, a statue by Bellini,
shows him alight on one foot, wings
at his heels, the snaky caduceus in
hand and, on his head, a rather
stylized combination
helmet-of-darkness and sun hat.
