Hermes
Hermes was the messenger god, guide of souls, patron of travellers and thieves — the most versatile and likeable Olympian, born cunning.
The Myth of Hermes
On the day he was born in a cave on Mount Cyllene, Hermes stole Apollo's sacred cattle, invented the lyre from a tortoise shell, and talked his way out of punishment before Zeus on Olympus. Amused by the infant's audacity, Zeus made him the gods' messenger. Hermes guided souls to Hades's underworld, led Perseus to the Gorgon Medusa with winged sandals and the cap of invisibility, and gave Odysseus the herb moly to resist Circe's magic. He was patron of travellers, thieves, merchants, and boundaries. Stone herms marked crossroads from Athens to Delphi. He helped Heracles retrieve Cerberus and escorted Persephone back to Demeter each spring — ever the god who moved between worlds.
Parents
Zeus and Maia
Children
Pan, Hermaphroditus, Autolycus
Symbols
Fun Fact
"Hermeneutics" (interpretation of texts) comes from Hermes — the messenger who carries meaning between worlds.
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth. See our full guide to English words from Greek mythology.
Explore Further
Hermes
⚡ godMessenger of the gods, commerce, thieves, travelers, boundaries
The swift messenger of the gods and guide of souls to the underworld. Hermes was the cleverest of the Olympians, patron of merchants and thieves alike.
Hermes
⚡ godMessenger of the gods and patron of thieves
The quicksilver god who guides souls to the Underworld, protects travellers, and invented lying on the day he was born.
Mercury
⚡ godCommerce, communication, travellers, trickery
Roman god of trade, messages, and boundaries, equivalent to the Greek Hermes
God of Messengers
💭 conceptMessages, travel, boundaries, commerce, thieves
Hermes serves as divine messenger and psychopomp, escorting both words and souls between worlds.
Hermes Psychopompos
⚡ godGuide of souls to the underworld
In his role as Psychopompos, Hermes escorted the souls of the dead to the underworld — the only Olympian who moved freely between all three realms.
Hades
⚡ godKing of the dead
The ruler of the Underworld who received the dead, guarded by Cerberus and feared so deeply that Greeks avoided speaking his name.
Apollo
⚡ godGod of light, music, prophecy, and plague
Apollo was the most complex Olympian — god of light, music, poetry, prophecy, healing, plague, and rational thought, the divine embodiment of Greek civilisation.
Helios
⚡ godTitan who drove the sun chariot daily
Helios was the Titan god who drove the chariot of the sun across the sky each day — seeing everything that happened on earth from his vantage point above.
Melampus
🗡 heroNone recorded
The first mortal prophet in Greek tradition who gained the ability to understand the speech of animals after serpents licked his ears clean
Apollo
⚡ godGod of the sun, music, poetry, prophecy, healing, archery
God of light, music, poetry, and prophecy. Apollo embodied the Greek ideal of youthful masculine beauty and was patron of the Oracle at Delphi.
Circe
⚡ godSorceress goddess of transformation
A powerful sorceress who lived on the island of Aeaea. Circe transformed Odysseus's men into swine and later became his lover and advisor.
Hades
⚡ godGod of the dead and lord of the underworld
Hades was the lord of the underworld who received the dead — feared but not evil, wealthy from earth's minerals, and far more just than his brothers.