Hermes

Hermes freed himself from his swaddling bands soon after his birth in a cave on Mount Cyllene. His mother was Maia, and his father was Zeus. He left the cave and found a tortoise nearby. Clearing out its shell, he stretched strings across it and made the first lyre. He played it, then returned to his plan.

Hermes travelled to Pieria, where Apollo’s cattle were grazing. He stole five of them and drove them away so that their tracks would be difficult to follow. In one account, he made the cattle walk backwards and sideways. In another, he put coverings over their feet. He also made sandals for his own feet, using materials from the land, and travelled with the herd to Pylos.

At Pylos, Hermes hid the cattle in a cave. He sacrificed two of them, nailed their hides to rocks, and divided their flesh into twelve portions. He boiled some, burned some, and ate his own share. This was described as the first flesh sacrifice. He then returned swiftly to Cyllene and placed the lyre in his cradle before pretending to sleep.

Apollo discovered that his cattle were missing and searched for them. His search reached Pylos and other places, but Hermes’s deception concealed the trail. Apollo eventually went to the cave, woke Maia, and accused Hermes of the theft. Maia pointed to the child, still wrapped in his swaddling bands, but Apollo recognised the hides and carried Hermes to Olympus. Zeus urged Hermes to answer the charge. Hermes first denied it, then confessed and led Apollo to the hidden herd. After Hermes returned the cattle, Apollo took the lyre. Hermes was also made keeper of Apollo’s flocks in exchange.

Hermes approached the olive tree where Hera’s sentinel, Argus Panoptes, guarded Io. Zeus had changed Io, a priestess of Hera, into a white cow to conceal his pursuit of her. Hera saw through the deception, claimed the cow from Zeus, and entrusted her to Argus. The giant fastened Io to an olive tree and watched her with his many eyes. Even when he slept, only some of them closed.

Zeus sent Hermes to bring Io back. Hermes came in disguise as a shepherd and began to play and speak in a slow, soothing manner. Argus resisted sleep, since some of his eyes remained open whenever others closed. Hermes then told him the story of Pan and Syrinx. Pan pursued the nymph Syrinx, who was changed into reeds by her sister nymphs. Pan made a shepherd’s pipe from the reeds, joining them with beeswax. Argus found this tale and its music soporific. His eyes closed, and he fell completely asleep.

Hermes killed Argus while he slept. One account says that Hermes crushed him with a boulder and cut off his head. He then released Io. Hera took Argus’s eyes and set them in the tail of her peacock as a memorial to the guard who had served her.

Io was not left in peace. Hera sent a gadfly to sting and drive her across the earth. Io went first to Dodona, then reached the sea called the Ionian after her. She turned north towards Mount Haemus, travelled by the Danube’s delta, and followed the route around the Black Sea. She crossed the Crimean Bosphorus and followed the River Hybristes towards its source in the Caucasus.

Hermes moved through the fighting with the helmet of invisibility on his head. Hippolytus fought among the Giants as they attacked the Olympian gods. The helmet concealed Hermes from Hippolytus, so the Giant did not see the god approach. Hermes drew his sword and killed Hippolytus.

The battle formed part of the Gigantomachy, the war between the Giants and the Olympian gods. In one telling, the fighting took place on the plain of Phlegra in Thessaly. Alcyoneus, Porphyrion, Ephialtes, Eurytos, Clytios, Mimas, Encelados and Pallas also fell in the conflict. Different gods killed them. In some tellings, a god first wounded a Giant, and Heracles then delivered the final blow.

Dionysus killed Eurytos with his thyrsus. Artemis killed Gration. Apollo shot Ephialtes in the left eye, and Heracles shot him in the right. Hecate killed Clytios with her torches, and Hephaistos attacked Mimas with red-hot iron. Athene crushed Encelados beneath Sicily and flayed Pallas, then used the Giant's skin as protection. The encounter between Hermes and Hippolytus received no further detail. It did not explain why Hippolytus fought with the Giants, and Hermes's sword strike after his unseen approach remained the final event in their encounter.

Zeus and Hermes travelled through Phrygia in human form. Weary from the journey, they went from door to door seeking rest and shelter. The inhabitants refused them. The doors remained shut, although the travellers asked for help late in the day. At last, they reached a small cottage with a thatched roof. Baucis and Philemon, an elderly couple who had grown old together, welcomed them inside.

The couple had little, but they received the strangers with warmth. They had no servants. Baucis and Philemon managed the household themselves and prepared the food they could afford. In one telling, they served cabbage, onions, barley, eggs, and homemade wine. In another, they served olives, cherries, cheese, apples, grapes, bacon, and the remains of a fire. They set places at the table and shared the meal with their guests. As they talked about their life together, the couple noticed that the wine bowl filled again whenever it was emptied. They understood that the travellers were divine. In one telling, they even offered their only goose, but the gods prevented them from killing it.

Zeus and Hermes then revealed themselves. They told Baucis and Philemon that the surrounding place was condemned because of its wickedness. The gods destroyed the inhospitable town, while the couple’s humble home was spared. A hill in Phrygia was later associated with a linden tree and an oak enclosed by a low wall. Nearby lay a marsh, once habitable land, with pools where fen-birds and cormorants gathered. Baucis and Philemon survived, and their hospitality had opened the only door to the disguised travellers.

Chione grew into a girl of such beauty that, when she was fourteen, a thousand princes sought her favour. Apollo came from Delphi, while Hermes travelled from Mount Cyllene. They saw her at the same time and both fell in love with her. That night, each visited Chione, and both fathered a child by her.

Apollo fathered Philammon. Hermes fathered Autolycus. The two boys were twins, though they inherited different qualities from their fathers. Philammon was associated with Apollo, while Autolycus claimed Hermes as his father.

Hermes granted Autolycus exceptional skill in theft and deception. Autolycus became a master thief. Hermes also gave him the power to change the appearance of stolen animals. He could turn horned beasts into unhorned ones, black animals into white ones, and white animals into black ones.

Autolycus lived near Sisyphus, who owned a fine herd of cattle on the Isthmus of Corinth. Sisyphus noticed that his herds were becoming smaller as Autolycus’s herds increased, but he could not initially prove that Autolycus was responsible. He therefore marked the undersides of his cattle’s hooves. Some accounts say he engraved the letters SS there. Others say he wrote, ‘Stolen by Autolycus’. When Autolycus stole cattle again, the marks remained on the hoof-prints along the road. At dawn, Sisyphus summoned his neighbours to witness the evidence and visited Autolycus.