HERMES, a Greek god, son of Zeus and Maia, daughter of Atlas, and often identified with Mercury (q.v.) and with Cas milus or Cadmilus, one of the Cabeiri (q.v.). The derivation of his name and his primitive character are very uncertain. The earliest centre of his cult was probably Arcadia, where Mt. Cyllene was reputed to be his birthplace. Here he was specially worshipped as the god of fertility, and his images were ithy phallic, as also were the "Hermae" (q.v.) at Athens. At Cyllene in Elis a mere phallus served as his emblem, and was highly venerated in the time of Pausanias (vi. 26, 3).
Both in literature and cult Hermes was constantly associated with the protection of cattle and sheep; at Tanagra and else where his title was Kpcoct.opos, the ram-bearer. As a pastoral god he was often closely connected with deities of vegetation, espe cially Pan and the nymphs. His pastoral character is recognized in the Iliad (xiv. 490) and the later epic hymn to Hermes; and his Homeric titles &K&Kfra, ipcovvcos, ScITwp Mow ("gracious," "the ready helper," "giver of good things") probably refer to him as the giver of fertility. In the Odyssey, however, he ap pears mainly as the messenger of the gods, and the conductor of the dead to Hades. Hence, in later times he is often repre sented in art and mythology as a herald. The conductor of souls was naturally a chthonian god ; at Athens there was a festival in honour of Hermes and the souls of the dead, and Aeschylus (Persae, 628) invokes Hermes, with Earth and Hades, in sum moning a spirit from the underworld. With this go his func tions as a dream-god; he is called the "conductor of dreams" and the Greeks offered to him the last libation before sleep. As a messenger he may also have become the god of roads and doorways; he was the protector of travellers and his images were used for boundary-marks (see HERMAE) . Treasure casually found was the gift of Hermes (gpuacov), and any stroke of good luck was attributed to him ; this and his function as a deity of gain, honest or dishonest (KepSwos) are natural derivatives of his character as god of fertility. The trickery and cunning of Hermes is a prominent theme in literature from Homer downwards, al though it is very rarely recognized in official cult. In the hymn to Hermes the god figures as a precocious child (a type familiar in folk-lore), who, when a new-born babe, steals the cows of Apollo. In many respects he was a counterpart of Apollo, less dignified and powerful, but more human than his greater brother. Hermes was a patron of music, like Apollo, and invented the cithara; he presided over the games with Apollo and Heracles, and his statues were common in the stadia and gymnasia. He is god of eloquence also ; like Apollo he is something of a prophet, though a much inferior one, presiding over some kinds of pop ular divination. For his oracle at Pharae, see ORACLES.
The sacred number of Hermes was 4, and the 4th of the month his birthday. Apart from the Hermae, in archaic art he was portrayed as a full-grown and bearded man, clothed in a long chiton, and often wearing a cap (Kvvrl) or a broad-brimmed hat (irirauos), and winged boots. Sometimes he was represented in his pastoral character, as when he bears a sheep on his shoulders ; at other times he appears as the messenger or herald of the gods with the Knp1iKeLov, or herald's staff, which is his most frequent attribute. From the latter part of the 5th century his art-type was changed in conformity with the general develop ment of Greek sculpture. He now became a nude and beardless youth, the type of the young athlete. In the 4th century this type was probably fixed by Praxiteles in his statue of Hermes at Olympia.