Ancient Greek mythology. Hermes Greek god messenger of the gods

Hermes, V Greek mythology messenger of the gods, patron of travelers, guide of the souls of the dead, god of trade, profit, rationality, dexterity, trickery, deception, theft and eloquence, giver of wealth and income in trade, god of athletes. Patron of heralds, ambassadors, shepherds and travelers; patron of magic, alchemy and astrology. He invented measures, numbers, the alphabet and taught it to people.

Family and environment

To make his son Ephalis immortal, Hermes endowed him with limitless memory. As Apollonius of Rhodes wrote: “Even when he crossed the Acheron, the river in the kingdom of the dead, oblivion did not swallow his soul; and although he lives now in the abode of shadows, now in earthly world bathed in sunlight, he always retains the memories of what he saw."

When the gods fled to Egypt, he turned into an ibis.

Name, epithets and character

Hermes Olympian deity of pre-Greek, possibly Asia Minor origin. The name of Hermes is understood as a derivative of the word "herma", which indicates the fetishistic antiquity of this deity. The herma was a stone column (either a pile of stones or a stone pillar) with the carved head of Hermes and highlighted genitals.

At first, herms marked burial places, later they were installed at road intersections and, along with their sacred function, served as road signs. They served as guiding signs, fetishes - guardians of roads, borders, gates (hence the epithet of Hermes "perverted" - "Propylaeus"). Hermes pillars (hermes that looked like pillars with the head of Hermes) became widespread; they stood on the streets, in squares and at the entrance to palaestras.

Hermes performs one of his most ancient functions as a conductor of the souls of the dead in Hades or an assistant on the way to the kingdom of the dead, hence his epithet Psychopomp - “guide of souls.” Hermes is equally present in both worlds - life and death; he is a mediator between one and the other, just as he is a mediator between gods and people. He leads Hera, Athena and Aphrodite to the judgment of Paris.

During the period of late antiquity, the image of Hermes Trismegistus ("thrice greatest") arose in connection with the proximity of Hermes to the other world; The occult sciences and the so-called hermetic (secret, closed, accessible only to initiates) writings were associated with this image.

Sometimes he was depicted with a lamb on his shoulders, as the patron of flocks, hence another epithet Kriofor, that is, “carrying a ram.” Other epithets of Hermes are also known: Agoreus “market”, as the patron of trade; Akaketus (or Akakesius) has one of the meanings of "helper", "merciful" or "invulnerable", perhaps this epithet is associated with the city of Akakesius in Arcadia; Doly "cunning"; Ktharos "profitable"; Tikhon “hits the target”, as bringing good luck; Tricephalus "three-headed", as the patron of crossroads.

Hermes is a joker and a merry fellow who loves practical jokes. He surpasses everyone in cunning, cunning and ingenuity, the cunning and dexterity of Hermes make him the patron of trickery and theft, it is not for nothing that thieves and cheaters considered him their patron.

In Roman mythology it was revered under the name of Mercury. Among the Maeonians, Candaules, the legendary king of Lydia, the last of the Heraclid dynasty, is identified with him.

Cult and symbolism

According to Herodotus, the Athenians were the first of the Hellenes to make an image of him with a tense member, having learned this from the Pelasgians, who had a sacred legend. Originally, Hermes was a phallic deity, depicted by herms. In 415 BC e. the herms were destroyed. During Roman times, they lost connection with the phallic cult of Hermes and began to be made in the form of a rectangular column on which a bust of a person or deity was placed.

The fetishistic rudiments of God are found in such indispensable attributes of Hermes as the “ambrosial” (literally “immortal”) golden winged sandals “talaria” and the golden rod - kerikion or caduceus - the center magical power which he received from Apollo. The caduceus had on itself two snakes (in another version - two ribbons), which wrapped around the staff at the moment when Hermes decided to test it, placing it between two fighting snakes. God used his rod to put people to sleep or wake them up - in order to convey a message from the gods to one of the mortals. Another attribute of Hermes is the wide-brimmed petas hat.

In medieval book illustrations, Hermes is depicted as a symbol of the planet Mercury (in many European languages, mercury, which played an extremely important role in alchemy until the 17th century, bore the name of this planet).

Hermes was revered as the patron of young athletes; stadiums were built in his honor, which were intended for various athletic competitions, as well as schools where gymnastics was practiced. These schools were decorated with sculptures of Hermes.

Pausanias cites the legend of the Boeotian city of Tanagra, which was saved from the plague by Hermes by carrying a ram on his shoulders around the city walls: “As for the temples of Hermes, one is dedicated to Hermes Kriophoros (the Ram Bearer), the other to Hermes, whom they call Promachos (warrior). Regarding the first name, they say that Hermes averted the pestilence from them by carrying a ram around their walls; therefore, Kalamis created a statue of Hermes carrying a ram on his shoulders. So to this day, at the festival of Hermes, the young man who will recognized as the most beautiful in appearance, walks around the city wall with a lamb on his shoulders."

Hermes was revered at Anthesteria - the festival of the awakening of spring and the memory of the dead. In Rome, merchants celebrated the festival of Mercury on May 15. On this day in 495 BC. The first temple was dedicated to him and the first college of Mercurial merchants was established. The altar to Hermes was also located near the so-called waters of Mercury, where merchants sprinkled their goods to preserve them from spoilage.

Influence on culture and art

The III and XVII hymns of Homer, the XXVIII Orphic hymn are dedicated to him.

Hermes actor the tragedies of Aeschylus "Eumenides" and "Chained Prometheus", the tragedies of Euripides "Antiope" and "Ion", the comedies of Aristophanes "The World" and "Plutos", the play of Astydamas the younger "Hermes".

Numerous ancient statues of Hermes - “Binding the Sandal”, “Hermes Belvedere”, “Hermes Olympus” and others. Among the works of ancient sculpture that have come down to us: “Hermes with the baby Dionysus” by Praxiteles, “Hermes at rest” in a Roman copy; “Hermes Ludovisi”, “Hermes Fariese” are also known. Among the hermas is a Pergamon copy of Alcamenes' work. Among the reliefs are "Hermes and the Charites".

Sometimes Hermes was depicted as the god of eloquence. In the symbolism of the Renaissance and Baroque, Hermes is a guide of souls (relief of the Malatestian temple in Rimini; Raphael’s fresco “Hermes introduces Psyche to Olympus”), messenger of the gods (statue “Mercury Giambologna”), peacemaker (painting by P. P. Rubens “Reconciliation of Marie de Medici with his son") and others. Hermes was often depicted in the company of the Charit-Graces (J. Tintoretto “Mercury and the Three Graces”). In European art of the 15-17th centuries, the plots “Mercury beheads Argos” (Rubens, J. Jordans, Velazquez, Rembrandt, etc.), “The Rape of Admetus’ Herds by Mercury” (Domenichino, C. Lorrain, etc.).

In the art of the 18th - early 19th centuries. the image of Hermes is embodied mainly in plastic (G.R. Donner, J.V. Pigalle, B. Thorvaldsen, etc.)

Hermes in modern times

(69230)Hermes- a near-Earth asteroid from the Apollo group, which is characterized by a highly elongated orbit, due to which, in the process of its movement around the Sun, it crosses the orbits immediately three planets: Venus, Earth and Mars. Discovered by Karl Reinmuth on October 28, 1937.

It is curious that nowadays entrepreneurs very often use the name of Hermes in the names of their trading companies.

The religion of ancient Greece has two main characteristics:

Polytheism (polytheism). With all the many Greek gods, 12 main ones can be distinguished. The pantheon of pan-Greek gods emerged in the classical era.

Each deity in the Greek pantheon performed strictly defined functions:

· Zeus -- main god, ruler of the sky, thunderer, personified strength and power
· Hera - wife of Zeus, goddess of marriage, patroness of the family. The image of Hera grew from the image of the cow goddess, the patroness of Mycenae
· Poseidon is the brother of Zeus. Poseidon was the ancient sea deity of Pelaponesse. The cult of Poseidon, having absorbed a number of local cults, became the god of the sea and the patron saint of horses
· Athena is the goddess of wisdom and just war. Athena is an ancient deity - the patroness of cities and city fortifications. Her other name is Pallas, also an epithet meaning “Shaker of the Spear.” According to classical mythology, Athena acts as a warrior goddess, she was depicted in full armor
· Aphrodite - the idealized personification of femininity, the goddess of love and beauty, born from sea foam
· Ares - god of war
· Artemis is one of the most revered deities by the Greeks. It is usually believed that the cult of Artemis originated in Asia Minor, where she was considered the patroness of fertility. In classical mythology, Artemis appears as a virgin goddess-hunter, usually with her companion - a doe.
· Apollo in Pelaponesse was considered a shepherd deity. Near Thebes, Apollo Ismenias was revered: this epithet is the name of a local river, which was once deified by the inhabitants. Apollo later became one of the most popular gods in Greece. He is considered the embodiment of the national spirit. The main functions of Apollo: divination of the future, patronage of the sciences and arts, healing, cleansing from all filth, deity of light, correct, orderly world order.
· Hermes - the god of eloquence, trade and theft, the messenger of the gods, the guide of the souls of the dead to the kingdom of Hades - the god of the underworld
· Hephaestus - god of fire, patron of artisans and especially blacksmiths
Demeter - goddess of fertility, patroness of agriculture
· Hestia - goddess of the hearth

The ancient Greek gods lived on the snow-capped Mount Olympus. In addition to the gods, there was a cult of heroes - semi-deities born from the marriage of gods and mortals. Hermes, Theseus, Jason, Orpheus are the heroes of many ancient Greek poems and myths.

The second feature of the ancient Greek religion is anthropomorphism - the human-likeness of the gods.

The ancient Greeks understood deity as the Absolute. Cosmos is an absolute deity, and the ancient gods are those ideas that are embodied in space, these are the laws of nature that govern it. Therefore, all the advantages and all the disadvantages of nature and human life reflected in the gods. The ancient Greek gods have the appearance of a person, they are similar to him not only in appearance, but in behavior: they have wives and husbands, enter into relationships similar to humans, have children, fall in love, are jealous, take revenge, i.e. they have the same advantages and disadvantages, as mortals. We can say that gods are absolutized people. This trait influenced the entire character of ancient Greek civilization and determined its main feature - humanism.

The anthropomorphic essence of the gods naturally suggests that one can achieve their favor through material means - gifts (including human and other sacrifices), persuasion (that is, turn to them with prayer, which, among other things, may have the nature of self-praise or even deception ) or special actions.

Ancient culture grows on the basis of the pantheism of the ancient Greek religion, which arises as a result of a sensual understanding of the cosmos: ideal gods are only a generalization of the corresponding areas of nature, both rational and irrational. This is fate, recognized as a necessity, and it is impossible to go beyond it. From this we can conclude that ancient culture develops under the sign of fatalism, which ancient man overcomes with ease, fighting fate like a hero. This is the meaning of life.

Therefore, the cult of the hero is especially characteristic of ancient Greek culture. In antiquity there is an amazing synthesis of fatalism and heroism, arising from a special understanding of freedom. Freedom of action gives rise to heroism. Pantheism and the cult of heroes are most clearly expressed in ancient Greek mythology.

Cosmogonic themes did not occupy a prominent place in folk beliefs. The idea of a creator god was absent in this religion. According to Hesiod, from Chaos were born Earth, Darkness, Night, and then Light, Ether, Day, Sky, Sea and other great forces of nature. From Heaven and Earth the older generation of gods was born, and from them Zeus and other Olympian gods.

The main gods in Ancient Hellas were recognized as those who belonged to the younger generation of celestials. Once upon a time, it took away power over the world from the older generation, who personified the main universal forces and elements (see about this in the article The Origin of the Gods of Ancient Greece). The gods of the older generation are usually called titans. Defeating the Titans lesser gods led by Zeus settled on Mount Olympus. The ancient Greeks honored the 12 Olympian gods. Their list usually included Zeus, Hera, Athena, Hephaestus, Apollo, Artemis, Poseidon, Ares, Aphrodite, Demeter, Hermes, Hestia. Hades is also close to the Olympian gods, but he does not live on Olympus, but in his underground kingdom.

Gods Ancient Greece. Video

God Poseidon (Neptune). Antique statue of the 2nd century. according to R.H.

Olympian goddess Artemis. Statue in the Louvre

Statue of Virgin Athena in the Parthenon. Ancient Greek sculptor Phidias

Venus (Aphrodite) de Milo. Statue approx. 130-100 BC.

Eros Earthly and Heavenly. Artist G. Baglione, 1602

Hymen- companion of Aphrodite, god of marriage. After his name, wedding hymns were also called hymens in Ancient Greece.

- daughter of Demeter, kidnapped by the god Hades. The inconsolable mother, after a long search, found Persephone in the underworld. Hades, who made her his wife, agreed that she should spend part of the year on earth with her mother, and the other with him in the bowels of the earth. Persephone was the personification of grain, which, being “dead” sown into the ground, then “comes to life” and comes out of it into the light.

The abduction of Persephone. Antique jug, ca. 330-320 BC.

Amphitrite- wife of Poseidon, one of the Nereids

Proteus- one of sea deities Greeks Son of Poseidon, who had the gift of predicting the future and changing his appearance

Triton- the son of Poseidon and Amphitrite, a messenger of the deep sea, blowing a shell. By appearance- a mixture of man, horse and fish. Close to the eastern god Dagon.

Eirene- goddess of peace, standing at the throne of Zeus on Olympus. IN Ancient Rome- goddess Pax.

Nika- goddess of victory. Constant companion of Zeus. In Roman mythology - Victoria

Dike- in Ancient Greece - the personification of divine truth, a goddess hostile to deception

Tyukhe- goddess of luck and good fortune. For the Romans - Fortuna

Morpheus – ancient greek god dreams, son of the god of sleep Hypnos

Plutos– god of wealth

Phobos(“Fear”) – son and companion of Ares

Deimos(“Horror”) – son and companion of Ares

Enyo- among the ancient Greeks - the goddess of frantic war, who arouses rage in the fighters and brings confusion into the battle. In Ancient Rome - Bellona

Titans

Titans are the second generation of gods of Ancient Greece, generated by natural elements. The first Titans were six sons and six daughters, descended from the connection of Gaia-Earth with Uranus-Sky. Six sons: Cronus (Time among the Romans - Saturn), Ocean (father of all rivers), Hyperion, Kay, Kriy, Iapetus. Six daughters: Tethys(Water), Theia(Shine), Rhea(Mother Mountain?), Themis (Justice), Mnemosyne(Memory), Phoebe.

Uranus and Gaia. Ancient Roman mosaic 200-250 AD.

In addition to the Titans, Gaia gave birth to Cyclopes and Hecatoncheires from her marriage with Uranus.

Cyclops- three giants with a large, round, fiery eye in the middle of their forehead. In ancient times - personifications of clouds from which lightning flashes

Hecatoncheires- “hundred-handed” giants, against whose terrible strength nothing can resist. Incarnations of terrible earthquakes and floods.

The Cyclopes and Hecatoncheires were so strong that Uranus himself was horrified by their power. He tied them up and threw them deep into the earth, where they are still rampaging, causing volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. The presence of these giants in the belly of the earth began to cause terrible suffering. Gaia persuaded her youngest son, Cronus, to take revenge on his father, Uranus, by castrating him.

Cron did it with a sickle. From the drops of blood of Uranus that spilled, Gaia conceived and gave birth to three Erinyes - goddesses of vengeance with snakes on their heads instead of hair. The names of Erinny are Tisiphone (the killing avenger), Alecto (the tireless pursuer) and Megaera (the terrible). From that part of the seed and blood of castrated Uranus that fell not on the ground, but in the sea, the goddess of love Aphrodite was born.

Night-Nyukta, in anger at the lawlessness of Krona, gave birth to terrible creatures and deities Tanata (Death), Eridu(Discord) Apata(Deception), goddesses of violent death Ker, Hypnos(Dream-Nightmare), Nemesis(Revenge), Gerasa(Old age), Charona(carrier of the dead to the underworld).

Power over the world has now passed from Uranus to the Titans. They divided the universe among themselves. Kron became his father supreme god. The ocean gained power over a huge river, which, according to the ideas of the ancient Greeks, flows around the entire earth. Four other brothers of Cronos reigned in the four cardinal directions: Hyperion - in the East, Crius - in the south, Iapetus - in the West, Kay - in the North.

Four of the six elder titans married their sisters. From them came the younger generation of titans and elemental deities. From the marriage of Oceanus with his sister Tethys (Water), all the earth's rivers and Oceanid water nymphs were born. Titan Hyperion - (“high-walking”) took his sister Theia (Shine) as his wife. From them were born Helios (Sun), Selena(Moon) and Eos(Dawn). From Eos were born the stars and the four gods of the winds: Boreas(North wind), Note(South wind), Marshmallow(west wind) and Eurus(Eastern wind). The Titans Kay (Heavenly Axis?) and Phoebe gave birth to Leto (Night Silence, mother of Apollo and Artemis) and Asteria (Starlight). Cronus himself married Rhea (Mother Mountain, the personification of the productive power of mountains and forests). Their children are the Olympic gods Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, Poseidon, Zeus.

The Titan Crius married the daughter of Pontus Eurybia, and the Titan Iapetus married the oceanid Clymene, who gave birth to the Titans Atlas (he holds the sky on his shoulders), the arrogant Menoetius, the cunning Prometheus (“thinking first, foreseeing”) and the feeble-minded Epimetheus (“thinking after").

From these titans came others:

Hesperus- god of the evening and the evening star. His daughters from the night-Nyukta are the nymphs Hesperides, who guard on the western edge of the earth a garden with golden apples, once presented by Gaia-Earth to the goddess Hera at her marriage to Zeus

Ory- goddesses of parts of the day, seasons and periods of human life.

Charites- goddess of grace, fun and joy of life. There are three of them - Aglaya (“Rejoicing”), Euphrosyne (“Joy”) and Thalia (“Abundance”). A number of Greek writers have different names for charites. In Ancient Rome they corresponded to grace

God Hermes

Birth of Hermes. Hermes is the son of Zeus and a nymph named Maya. He was born in Arcadia, a region of shepherds who lived a serene, happy life, in a deep grotto on Mount Killen. As soon as he was born, he began his deeds and mischief. On the very first day after his birth, he, taking advantage of the fact that Maya had gone somewhere, climbed out of his cradle and began to examine the surroundings of the cave. Having found the turtle, he killed it, took off the shell and pulled the strings there. This is how the kithara was made. But this one musical instrument Hermes soon got tired of it, and he went for a walk, going further and further from his cave. He walked until he came across a herd of cows that belonged to Apollo, and a daring plan was born in his head - to steal the herd of the golden-eyed god.

Hermes steals Apollo's herd. The plan was carried out, and he drove the cows backwards, so that Apollo could not guess from the tracks where they had gone. He hid the stolen cows in a cave, which he filled with a huge stone, and, having finished his work, returned home, seeped into the room through the keyhole like a light cloud and lay down in the cradle, wrapping himself in diapers, and holding the cithara under his arm. All this did not escape Maya's eyes. “The inventor is cunning! And where do you come home from late at night? Do you really think that I don’t know about your trick? And aren’t you afraid that Apollo will punish you?” - she exclaimed. “Don't scare me, mother! - Hermes calmly answered her - You and I will engage in a very profitable business - cattle breeding. And if Apollo tries to do something to me, I will break through the wall of his temple in Delphi and take away the golden tripods from there, and no one will be able to stop me!” However, such speeches frightened the timid Maya even more.

Bronze statue
Hermes in Greek
performance.
VI century BC.

Apollo admonishes Hermes. In the morning, Apollo discovered that his cows were missing and went to look for them. However, he was unable to find the herd; he only found a cave in which a baby lay in a cradle and seemed to be sleeping peacefully, but in fact he was looking at him from under his lowered eyelids. Realizing that this was something dirty, Apollo turned to him with a menacing speech: “Boy! Hey you, lying in the cradle! Come on, show me where the cows are! Otherwise I will throw you to the threshold of the gloomy Tartarus and you will wander there along with the ethereal shadows of the dead!”

Here Hermes opened his eyes wide and feigned complete surprise. “Son of Leto! On whom do you heap your harsh words? How did you come up with the idea of looking for cows here, the inhabitants of the field? Do I look like a kidnapper? I was only born yesterday, my feet are tender, and the earth is full of sharp stones. How will I go after the cows? If no one had heard, they would not have said that you had lost your mind! But I don’t even know what cows are like, I’ve only heard their name!” However, these excuses did not help. Apollo grabbed Hermes and dragged him to Zeus for trial. The ruler of the gods laughed at his son’s trick, but strictly ordered: return the cows!

Exchange. Hermes wandered sadly to the cave where the cows were locked, showing Apollo the way to it. This is the place. Apollo rolled away the stone and began to drive the herd outside, but suddenly he froze - beautiful music was heard from the street. Enchanted by its sounds, forgetting about his cows, he rushed out of the cave and saw that it was Hermes playing the cithara. Apollo asked to give him a cithara, but Hermes refused. The bright god begged him for a long time, and finally they agreed to exchange: Apollo gave Hermes the cows, and he gave him the cithara. Thus ended the enmity and animosity between the two brothers, and they never quarreled again. Hermes was accepted into Olympus and given his place in the family of gods.

Tricks of Hermes. Among the entire population of Olympus, Hermes stood out for his agility. No one can surpass him in various tricks and tricks. Once, as a joke, he stole from Zeus his scepter - a sign of power, from Poseidon - a trident, from Apollo - golden arrows and a bow, from Ares - a sword. Hermes serves as the messenger of the gods on Olympus; Zeus constantly sends him to people on various errands - and faster than the wind, he rushes through the air in his winged sandals, holding in his hands a staff - the caduceus, with the help of which he can put people to sleep and, without danger to himself, descend into the gloomy Hades and return back. Hermes guards the roads, and everywhere in Greece, at the entrances of houses, at crossroads, and even just by the roads, there were his stone images - herms.

Hermes is the patron.

Hermes helps travelers during their lifetime, and he also leads the shadows of the dead on their final journey - to the dark kingdom of Hades. In this case, he is called Hermes Psychopomp (“Guide of Souls”). Many saw Hermes as their patron: he helped merchants accumulate wealth, gave eloquence to orators, made the first cithara for musicians, and gave all people the alphabet and writing, measures and numbers. Messengers and heralds saw their defender and patron in Hermes; athletes believed that it gave them strength and agility. Even more surprising is that Hermes helped deceivers pass off lies as truth, and thieves successfully fed on their dangerous and unloved craft. Deceivers and thieves also considered Hermes their patron.

Time passed. People became more and more knowledgeable; among them there were those that were accessible only to those initiated into their secret. Hermes Trismegistus (“Thrice Greatest”) was considered the god of this secret knowledge. He, as the Greeks believed, invented astrology, which made it possible to guess fate from the stars, and alchemy, the science of how to obtain gold from other metals.

Read also other topics Chapter I “Space, World, Gods” of the section “Gods and Heroes of the Ancient Greeks”.