Written by: Calli DeManiro
Issue: #007
Hello all and welcome to Out of the Ruins, We Go! 's seventh post. This blog is all about ancient Greek minor and major gods/goddesses, heroes, myths, and more! I'll be sharing some facts about their backgrounds, and then other fun facts about them!
This week is going to be all about mischeif. Please welcome the master of theives himself... Hermes!
Now, let's hop back to when Hermes was just a few hours old.
After just creating the musical instrument called the Lyre, little Hermes was hungry. So, he headed out in search for something to eat.
He eventually stumbled upon a cattle. Apollo's cattle. Hermes quickly and quietly stole 50 cows.
The godling almost had made it until an old man named Battos witnessed him. In exchange for plentiful crop and good vintage, the old man agreed to never speak of Hermes' actions.
Hermes then scarificed two cows in the fire. He then hid the rest of the herd. Satisfied, Hermes returned to his cradle. His mother, Maia, soon found out about his theft.
She then reproofed him of his theivery to the Gods. Maia turned out to be right, and Apollo arrived not long after looking for his missing herd.
Apollo confronted Maia and Hermes, and the arguement was soon taken to Mount Olympus. Standing before them was Apollo and Hermes father, Zeus, the king of Gods. Apollo told Zeus about how he found out and tracked Hermes down.
Hermes defended himself, playing innocent, telling lies, and using his cuteness to his advantage. Zeus could see right through his son's stories, and was amused by his quick witted mind. He felt an affection for the troublesome godling.
If Hermes agreed to give Apollo back his cattle, Zeus agreed to let the matter go and even offered Hermes a place among the Olympians.
Hermes did as told; he gave Apollo back is cattle. As two cows were...unrefundable, Hermes offered to give the lyre instead. Apollo, being the god of music, happily agreed. Hence, Hermes took his spot with the Olympians and has been there ever since.
And that, my friends is the story of how Hermes became an Olympian.
https://worldofolympians.com/li
brary/90ab8db8-324b-4082-8a61-8baf96eff7bc
Now, let's move onto some fun facts!
Hermes biological parents were Zeus, god of the sky and king of the gods, and Maia, daughter of Atlas and one of the seven Pleiades.
One of Hermes' many sons was Pan; half-goat, half-human! Pan's mother was named Dryope. Dryope was absolutely terrifed of Pan's appearance. In fact, you might be one of Hermes' children!
Did you know that Hermes is most commonly known as the messenger of the gods?
Yup, he's the dude that runs back and forth reporting to the gods! In fact, Hermes is the one besides Persephone and Hades that is allowed to come in and out of the Underworld.
He is portrayed as graceful youth, often wearing a winged hat and winged sandals. Afterall, this is how he appeared to Perceus when he and Athena helped Perceus slay Medusa!
And that is all I have for you guys today. I hope to see you soon!
Sources:
- https://greekgodsandgoddes
ses.net/gods/hermes/
- https://learnodo-newtonic.co
m/hermes-myths#3_Stealing_Apollos_C
attle
