Hermes: Personality of the Greek God

Hermes the greek god is featured in many myths, and is known for his expressive and sociable personality.

Hermes has a charming and clever personality, and his movement between Mount Olympus, the mortal world, and the underworld make him unique. He is considered a trickster, as he used his cleverness to handle situations with other gods, in which he would fool the others and come out ahead, often benefiting humans.

Hermes demonstrates his cunning intellect and ability to out trick others many times in Greek mythology.

Hermes was a trickster, often outsmarting the other gods in clever ways.

Myths That Show the Personality of Hermes

Hermes’s personality is shown in his interactions with his half-brother Apollo, as well as in the myth of Prometheus, and when he helped Orpheus descend to the underworld.

While still a baby, Hermes stole his half-brother Apollo’s sacred herd of 50 cattle. He enchanted the cows to walk backwards so it would be more difficult to see which direction they went. He also disguised their hoofmarks by giving the cows shoes made of bark, so that their steps would be more difficult to trace. Eventually the stolen cattle were found where Hermes hid them, in a cave in Arcadia. The matter was brought to Zeus who decided that Hermes would keep the herd (whose numbers were now down to 48 after Hermes had sacrificed 2), and would give Apollo his lyre.

At other times, Hermes stole Poseidon’s trident, Artemis’ arrows, and Aphrodite’s girdle. Because of this Hermes became associated with thieves. Hermes repeatedly demonstrates his imagination and trickery throughout Greek mythology.

Hermes was regarded as being a very pleasant god, and was highly social with both gods and mortals alike. In another myth, Prometheus is chained by Zeus as punishment for giving fire to mortals. Hermes is the only god to offer Prometheus words of comfort, demonstrating Hermes’s compassionate and empathetic nature.

In the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, Orpheus descends to the underworld to bring his love Eurydice back to life, and Hermes assists him in his journey. By playing his flute, Hermes enables Orpheus to cross the River Styx, and then successfully bringing Eurydice back to the world of the living. This myth shows Hermes’s resourceful and intelligent personality.

Symbols of Hermes

The most famous symbol of Hermes is the caduceus, which is a rod with wings at the top, and serpents wrapping around it. This symbol was given to Hermes by Apollo. Read more about the Caduceus of Hermes here.

Other symbols of Hermes include boots with wings on the ankles, a hat with a brim, and a traveler’s cloak. His animals are the rooster, tortoise, ram, and hawk.

The primary symbol of Hermes is the caduceus.

Hermes Was Known as Mercury in Ancient Rome

Like most of the gods in ancient Greek mythology, Hermes lived on in ancient Rome but with a different name. It was the Romans who gave the planet the name Mercury, in honor of their god. Mercury especially affects humans when it goes into retrograde, causing bad luck in communication.

According to Roman legend, the caduceus symbol originated when Mercury once attempted to stop a fight between two snakes by throwing his rod at them, whereupon they twined themselves around the rod, and the symbol was born.

The element of mercury plays an important role in alchemy. It is the only metal to remain liquid at room temperature, which to practitioners of alchemy has been interpreted as a hint that it contains a profound secret. Many practitioners of alchemy believed that it was one of the main ingredients need to produce the philosophers stone, which can turn base metals into gold, and produce immortality. Mercury is not quite liquid, and not quite solid, and seems to exist in the transition between states, not unlike Hermes as he passed between the worlds of the gods, the mortals, and the underworld. Read more about alchemy here.

Early Depictions of the Greek God Hermes

The first known depictions of Hermes are found in the tablets of the Mycenaean civilization, which was at its peak in 15^th century BC. The Mycenaeans were a prosperous people in mainland Greece who worshipped the Classical Greek gods. In the early days of Hermes, his caduceus was portrayed as an olive branch with ribbons. It was only later that the ribbons became the snakes.

Hermes killed the 100-Eyed Monster Argos

When Zeus was romantically involved with Argive Nympho, his wife Hera became jealous, Zeus transformed his lover into a white heifer, but Hera was not tricked and demanded the animal as a gift. She then appointed Argus Panoptes to guard the animal. Hermes was instructed by Zeus to rescue his lover, and Hermes lulled the monster to sleep with music, before killing him with his sword.

Hermes Freed Ares

He freed Ares from a year-long imprisonment in a cauldron by the twin giants Otus and Ephialtes. Ares is another of the 12 Olympian gods, and the god of courage and war.

Hermes and Hades

Another role of Hermes was to guide the souls of the recently deceased to the underworld of Hades. His caduceus staff would light the way to their final resting place. Because of this Hermes is sometimes referred to as ‘psychopomp’, which means conductor of souls. Similar to how he moved between the world of the gods and the mortals, his ability to access the underworld freely was unique amongst gods. You can read more about Hades here.

Hermes did Not Have a Wife

Hermes never married, nor did he have many known romantic relationships. He did at one point fall in love with Aphrodite, who refused him which greatly depressed Hermes. Zeus wanted to help him, and when Aphrodite was bathing in a river, Zeus sent an eagle to take her sandal and bring it to Hermes. In seeking her sandal, she came to Hermes, who seduced her in exchange for returning the sandal. Hermes rewarded the eagle by putting it in the sky and it became the constellation Aquila. You can read more about Aphrodite’s lovers here, as well as her curses here.

Hermes Greek God Pronunciation

The earliest depictions of Hermes can be traced back to the Mycenaeans, who referred to him as ‘Hermahas’. Today the ‘h’ is silent, the ‘er’ is pronounced like ‘air’ rather than ‘her’, and the ‘s’ at the end is pronounced like ‘s’ rather than ‘z’ which is a common mistake. The name is believed to come from the Greek word ‘herma’, which means ‘a heap of stones’.

Was Hermes a Good God?

Hermes was one of the most clever and mischievous of the Olympian gods. In some myths Hermes is depicted as a trickster who would outwit others for his own amusement, at times being deceptive.

When Hermes stole Apollo’s cattle, Poseidon’s trident, Artemis’ arrows, and Aphrodite’s girdle, he did not do so because he was an evil god, but rather he was motivated by his impish character and constant need for amusement.

Is Hermes Zeus’s Son?

Hermes is the son of Zeus and Maia, a beautiful Pleiadean nymph from Mount Cyllene. She was one of the seven daughters of Titan Atlas and Oceanid Pleione. These daughters were renowned for their beauty, with Maia being the most beautiful of the seven. She would often hide from the advances of mortal and gods in the cave of Mount Cyllene, but one night Zeus came to her in the night, raping and impregnating her while she slept. This baby was Hermes. You can read more about Zeus here.

What are Hermes Powers?

Hermes is an immortal being like the other Olympian gods. He also possesses superhuman strength, agility and reflexes. More significantly, he can run and fly faster than any other Olympic god. He is also the most-clever of the Greek gods, with the ability to deceive and trick others for his own amusement. His ability to move between worlds fluidly, from the world of the gods to the mortal world, and to Hades the underworld, are also what make Hermes unique. Read more about the powers of Hermes here.