See U in History
The birth of Hermes
Hermes was born of the union of Zeus and Maia.
His mother was one of the Pleiades,
daughters of the Titan Atlas.
When this god was still a baby, his mother kept him concealed inside a cave,
sleeping under the care of Hypnos.
However, noticing that his guardian had fallen asleep,
the small god escaped from the
cave and started to explore the world.
As he wandered through the region of Thessaly,
Hermes encountered Apollo, who was
taking care of his flock.
The young God decided that he would conquer those splendid animals.
And he waited
for the sunset to initiate his theft.
Hermes opened the gate and took 50 head of cattle with him.
But he knew that he needed a good strategy, otherwise Apollo would easily find him.
So, he attached tree branches to the animals’ tails, so that the leaves would sweep his footsteps.
In some occasions, he forced the cattle to take a different route,
where the oxen would march backwards,
give the impression that the cattle were heading in the other direction.
Yet, halfway through his path, Hermes is spotted by a man who asked him:
- What is a boy doing with so many head of cattle?
Hermes knew that he did not have a proper answer to that.
And decided to bribe the
man.
- I’ll give you a head of cattle if you don’t tell anyone you saw me.
- I’ll not, you can trust me.
The god continued his journey, but remained suspicious, and so he decided to return disguised as a man.
- Did you see a kid with cattle passing by this place? If you help me, I’ll give you a great reward.
- Yes, of course I did. He went in that direction.
- Stay here, I will get your reward.
The god walked to a mountain and tore a large chunk, throwing it on the man’s head.
- There you go, the great reward that you deserve.
When he arrived in the Peloponnese, Hermes sacrificed part of the flock in honor of the gods.
After his offering, the god found a turtle shell and, making use of the tendons of the sacrificed oxen,
he invented a musical instrument that would be known as the lira.
Hermes returned home and lied in his cradle.
Apollo realized that he had been robbed, and went after his flock.
Hermes’ tricks conceal the villain’s identity.
The god was then forced to use his powers that turned everything obscure into something as clear as the sunlight.
And so he reached Hermes’ hideout.
There, the baby slept peacefully.
Apollo forced Maia to wake the baby, to have him revealing where his flock was.
- Can’t you see that the child is sleeping quietly, how could he have done all that you’re mentioning?
Furious and embarrassed, Apollo said:
- I don't know how he did it, I just know he did.
- Do you want to tell me that one of the most powerful gods of the Olympus was deceived by a baby?
Isn’t that impossible?
At that point, Hermes started strumming his lyre, and the sound of the instrument touched Apollo’s heart,
who was dazzled by the object and said:
- Give me that instrument as a gift and everything will be forgotten.
Hermes agreed and, from that, the brother gods established a friendly bond.
Apollo gave him his caduceus and blessed his brother with gifts
that would make him a deity worthy of being among the most important of the Olympus.
Zeus welcomed him there with winged sandals, transforming him into a messenger god.
The story of the theft of Apollo’s flock reached the whole world
and Hermes started to be revered by all kinds of crooks, becoming known as the god of thieves as well.
