I am the god of movement,
traveling, through the air, over the land,
on the water.
I am the god of thieves,
thieving, through stealing,
over bargaining,
on poor deals.
I am the inventor of speech,
sharing of ideas,
through conversations,
through dreams
over prayers
I am the trickster,
unpredictability, through my will,
over my own,
on my whim.
In ancient greek religion, Hermes is the winged
herald and messenger of the Olympian gods.
The patron of travelers and wayfarers, the
divine trickster, the god of roads, flocks,
commerce, and thieves.
The conductor of dreams, shepherd of men,
and leader of souls.
he is also called the inventor of speech,
and thus, often associated with interpretation
or oratory.
Hermes was the son of Zeus and Maia, the eldest
of the seven Pleiades.
He was born in a cave in Mount Cyllene in
Arcadia.
And on the first day of his life, he was able
to invent the lyre and play a song, celebrating
his own birth with it.
To invent the lyre, Hermes killed a tortoise
and pulled the flesh out of its shell.
Then, giving honor to the Pleiades, he stretched
seven strings of sheep-gut over the empty
shell.
Hermes is usually depicted as an athletically
built, bare chested youth, always weilding
a broad-brimmed hat, winged sandals, and a
herald’s wand.
Hermes’ wand, is a short-winged staff, entangled
by two identical serpents, and had the power
to bring sleep upon people or wake them from
it.
Hermes was the only Olympian capable of crossing
the boundary between the living and the dead
and carrying the souls of the dead in the
underworld.
Thus, he was known as “the conductor”
or “the leader of souls.
In every way, Hermes was loved by all of the
gods, and mortal alike.
He was very close with his father, Zeus, acting
as his wingman.
The moon goddess, Artemis taught him how to
hunt, and the nature god,Pan how to play the
pipes.
Hermes was an extremely helpful god.
To mention but a few of his good deed, He
was the one who guided Persephone back to
her mother, Demeter, the one who beheaded
the hundred-eyed giant, Argus, and the one
who showed Athena, Aphrodite, and Hera the
way to Mount Ida where Paris was to judge
which one of them was the fairest.
He also led Perseus to the Graeae, escorted
Pandora to Epimetheus, and guided Priam safely
to Achilles’ tent.
Although Hermes never married, he had a few
consorts who bore him children.
Aphrodite bore him Hermaphrodites, Chione
bore him Autolycus, and Penelopeia bore him
Pan.
