Hermes
Greek mythology · deity · travel, trade, cunning, the guiding of souls
Messenger of the gods and guide of souls to the underworld, inventor of the lyre on the day of his birth, which he spent stealing Apollo's cattle. Patron of travelers, merchants, thieves, and everyone who lives by wit.
Stories
Circe's Island
Scouting a strange island, half of Odysseus's crew are turned to swine by the sorceress Circe. Armed with the god-given herb moly from Hermes, Odysseus resists her spell and wins his men back; the witch becomes an ally who hosts them for a year and charts the deadly road home.
Calypso and the Raft
For seven years the nymph Calypso keeps the shipwrecked Odysseus on her island, offering immortality if he will stay. He sits on the shore weeping for Ithaca until Zeus sends Hermes with an order the goddess cannot refuse; she teaches him to build a raft and lets him go.
Priam's Ransom
Guided by Hermes through the sleeping camp, old Priam kneels before Achilles and kisses the hands that killed his son. The two enemies weep together, each for his own dead, and Achilles returns Hector's body; the Iliad ends not in victory but in mercy.
Perseus and the Gorgon
Sent for Medusa's head as an impossible tribute, Perseus is armed by the gods: winged sandals from Hermes, a mirror-bright shield from Athena. He strikes without meeting the petrifying gaze, and from the Gorgon's severed neck springs the winged horse Pegasus.