\paperw3990 \margr0\margl0 \plain \fs20 \f1 \cf7 The Greek Hermes, corresponding to the Roman Mercury, was born to \b \cf15 \ATXht8 Zeus\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 and\cf0 \b \cf15 \ATXht11301 Maia\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 , one of the \b \cf15 \ATXht11626 Pleiades\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 , in a cave on Mount \b \cf15 \ATXht10337 Cyllene\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 . Within a few hours of his birth the god started to reveal some of the characteristics that were to mak
e him famous: ingenuity, cunning, adulation, and a propensity for larceny. "Born early in the morning," we are told by Homer, "he was already playing the lyre by midday and stealing the cattle of \b \cf15 \ATXht9 Apollo \b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 by evening."
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Hermes plays a leading role only in the myths of his childhood. Later he almost always appears in legends as a secondary figure, mainly as the messenger or intermediary of the gods. In fact, Zeus wanted him as his herald and gave him the task of maintai
ning contact between\cf0 \b \cf15 \ATXht11507 Olympus\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 \cf7 and the world of \b \cf15 \ATXht10800 Hades\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 , to which Hermes guided the shades of the dead.\par
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In the guise of an emissary he accompanied King\cf0 \b \cf15 \ATXht11633 Priam\b0 \ATXht0 \cf7 of \b \cf15 \ATXht12019 Troy\b0 \ATXht0 \cf7 to \b \cf15 \ATXht10104 Achilles\b0 \cf7 '\ATXht0 tent to ask for the body of \b \cf15 \ATXht10807 Hector\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 for burial; saved\cf0 \b \cf15 \ATXht12100 Ul
ysses\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 \cf7 from the enchantments of \b \cf15 \ATXht407 Circe \b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 \cf7 and ordered\cf0 \b \cf15 \ATXht10304 Calypso \b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 to set the hero free; was entrusted by Zeus with the task of liberating \b \cf15 \ATXht10909 Io\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 , who had been turned into a cow and placed under the surveillance of\cf0 \b \cf15 \ATXht10136 Argus\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 ; led \b \cf15 \ATXht3 Hera\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 , \b \cf15 \ATXht2 Aphrodite\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 , and \b \cf15 \ATXht6 Athe
na\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 to\b \cf15 \ATXht11606 Paris\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 \cf7 for the famous judgment; and took \b \cf15 \ATXht11605 Pandora\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 \cf7 to earth for the damnation of men.\par
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As always, there are conflicting versions of the st
ories of Hermes' loves. According to one tradition he fathered\cf15 \b \ATXht10513 Eros\b0 \ATXht0 \cf7 to Aphrodite, or alternatively\cf0 \b \cf15 \ATXht10813 Hermaphroditus\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 , whose name is a fusion of those of both parents. Another o
f Hermes' children was\b \ATXht11603 \cf15 Pan\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 , born to the daughter of King \b \cf15 \ATXht10412 Dryops\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 \cf7 who abandoned him immediately after she gave birth, frightened by the sight of his hairy body. The envious\cf0 \b \cf15 \ATXht10117 Aglauros\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 \cf7 paid the consequences of his love for \b \cf15 \ATXht10815 Herse\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 .\par
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Hermes proclaimed himself king of thieves and was also the god of commerce and the protector of gamblers. H
e guided travelers on the road and his images (herms) were set up at crossroads and city gates. He watched over herdsmen because he knew about rustling. He was also the tutelary deity of all the gymnastic games in Greece and was considered the originato
