Hermes

Greek mythology – Present

Messenger of the gods, guide of travelers and of souls to the Underworld, and the clever patron of roads, trade, and tricks.

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Hermes was the messenger of the Olympians, a son of Zeus pictured with winged sandals and the caduceus, a staff with two snakes. He protected travelers and thieves alike, a reminder that roads were both opportunity and risk. He also guided souls toward Hades, so he stands at the border between the living and the dead. In the Odyssey he is the god who tells Calypso she must let Odysseus go, and who gives Odysseus the herb moly so Circe cannot transform him. That is metis as a gift from a trickster god to a trickster hero. How we know. Roadside herm statues (stone markers) were a real Greek habit. Read Homer for the messenger scenes, the Underworld visit, and the return to Ithaca.

Hermes

Further reading