Hermes

Hermes or Herma, ae, m., = Ἑρμῆς (Hermes, Mercury; hence transf., cf. Liddell and Scott under Ἑρμῆς),

• a Hermes pillar, Hermes, a head carved on the top of a square pedestal or post; such pillars of Hermes stood, esp. in Athens, in several public places and before private houses, Macr. S. 1, 19; Serv. Verg. A. 8. 138; Nep. Alcib. 3; Cic. Leg. 2, 26, 65; id. Att. 1, 8, 2; Juv. 8, 53.—
• II Deriv.: Hermae-um, i, n., a temple of Hercules, Hermaeum.
• • A The name of a summer-house: in diaetam, cui nomen est Hermaeum, recesserat, Suet. Claud. 10.—
  • B A frontier town of Boeotia, over against Euboea, Liv. 35, 50, 9.

Hermēs (Herma), ae, m. (Ἑρμης, der Gott Hermes), I) jede Büste, die in einen viereckigen Fußpfeiler od. in eine Säule auslief, eine Herme, wie sie bes. in Athen auf mehreren öffentlichen Plätzen und vor den Eingängen der Tempel und Häuser standen, Cic. ad Att. 1, 8, 2. Nep. Alcib. 3, 2 (an beiden Stellen Plur. Hermae): dafür truncus Hermae, Iuven. 8, 53. – II) Hermes Trimaximus (= Τριςμέγιστος, Beiname des ägyptischen Hermes), ein Schriftsteller des 2. Jahrh. nach Chr., der altägyptischen, pythagorëischen u. platonischen Ideen wieder Eingang zu verschaffen suchte, Amm. 21, 14, 5.

Hermēs (14) (Herma), æ, m. (Ἑρμῆς), ¶ 1 Hermès ou Mercure || Hermæ, ārum, pl., Hermès, gaines surmontées dʼune tête de Mercure ; [en gén.] bustes : Cic. Leg. 2, 65 ; Att. 1, 8, 2 ¶ 2 Hermes Trismegistus, m. , Hermès Trismégiste [dieu ou sage égyptien] : Lact. Inst. 1, 6, ou Trimaximus Amm. 21, 14, 15 ¶ 3 nom dʼhommes : Mart. 5, 24 ; 10, 56, 7.

hermes, is vel etis. m.
無四體財神之像。

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Hermes

Ἑρμῆς, (Ἑρμείας, Dor. Ἑρμᾶς), a son of Zeus and Maia, the daughter of Atlas, was born in a cave of Mount Cyllene in Arcadia (Hom. Od. 8.335, 14.435, 24.1; Hymn. in Merc. 1, &c.; Ov. Met. 1.682, 14.291), whence he is called Atlantiades or Cyllenius; but Philostratus (Icon. 1.26) places his birth in Olympus. In the first hours after his birth, he escaped from his cradle, went to Pieiria, and carried off some of the oxen of Apollo. (Hom. Hymn. in Merc. 17.) In the Iliad and Odyssey this tradition is not mentioned, though Hermes is characterised as a cunning thief. (Il. 5.390, 24.24.) Other accounts, again, refer the theft of the oxen to a more advanced period of the life of the god. (Apollod. iii. 10.2; Ant. Lib. 23.) In order not to be discovered by the traces of his footsteps, Hermes put on sandals, and drove the oxen to Pylos, where he killed two, and concealed the rest in a cave. (Comp. the different stratagems by which he escaped in Horn. Hymn. in Merc. 75, &c., and Anton. Lib. l.c.) The skins of the slaughtered animals were nailed to a rock, and part of their flesh was prepared and consumed, and the rest burnt; at the same time he offered scrifices to the twelve gods, whence he is probably called the inventor of divine worship and sacrifices. (Hom. Hymn. in Merc. 125, &c.; Diod. 1.16.) Hereupon he returned to Cyllene, where he found a tortoise at the entrance of his native cave. He took the animal's shell, drew strings across it, and thus invented the lyre and plectrum. The number of strings of his new invention is said by some to have been three and by others seven, and they were made of the guts either of oxen or of sheep. (Hom. l.c. 51; Diod. 1.16, 5.75; Orph. Argon. 381; Hor. Carm. 1.10. 6.) Apollo, by his prophetic power, had in the meantime discovered the thief, and went to Cyllene to charge him with it before his mother Maia. She showed to the god the child in its cradle; but Apollo took the boy before Zeus, and demanded back his oxen. Zeus commanded him to comply with the demand of Apollo, but Hermes denied that he had stolen the cattle. As, however, he saw that his assertions were not believed, he conducted Apollo to Pylos, and restored to him his oxen; but when Apollo heard the sounds of the lyre, he was so charmed that he allowed Hermes to keep the animals. Hermes now invented the syrinx, and after having disclosed his inventions to Apollo, the two gods concluded an intimate friendship with each other. (Hom. l.c. 514, &c.) Apollo presented his young friend with his own golden shepherd's staff, taught him the art of prophesying by means of dice, and Zeus made him his own herald, and also of the gods of the lower world. According to the Homeric hymn (533, &c.), Apollo refused to teach Hermes the art of prophecy, and referred him for it to the three sisters dwelling on Parnassus; but he conferred upon him the office of protecting flocks and pastures (568; comp. Lucian, Dial. Deor. 7; Ov. Met. 2.683, &c.).

The principal feature in the traditions about Hermes consists in his being the herald of the gods, and in this capacity he appears even in the Homeric poems; his original character of an ancient Pelasgian, or Arcadian divinity of nature, gradually disappeared in the legends. As the herald of the gods, he is the god of skill in the use of speech and of eloquence in general, for the heralds are the public speakers in the assemblies and on other occasions. (Il. 1.333, 4.193, 7.279, 385, 8.517, 11.684; comp. Orph. Hymn. 27. 4; Aelian, Ael. NA 10.29; Hor. Carm. 1.10. 1.) As an adroit speaker, he was especially employed as messenger, when eloquence was required to attain the desired object. (Od. 1.38, Il. 24.390; Hom. Hymn. in Cer. 335.) Hence the tongues of sacrificial animals were offered to him. (Aristoph. Peace 1062; Athen. 1.16.) As heralds and messengers are usually men of prudence and circumspection, Hermes was also the god of prudence and skill in all the relations of social intercourse. (Il. 20.35, 24.282, Od. 2.38.) These qualities were combined with similar ones, such as cunning both in words and actions, and even fraud, perjury, and the inclination to steal; but acts of this kind were committed by Hermes always with a certain skill, dexterity, and even gracefulness. Examples occur in the Homeric hymn on Hermes (66, 260, 383; comp. Eustath. ad Hom. p. 1337; Hom. Il. 5.390, 24.24; Apollod. 1.6.3).

Being endowed with this shrewdness and sagacity, he was regarded as the author of a variety of inventions, and, besides the lyre and syrinx, he is said to have invented the alphabet, numbers, astronomy, music, the art of fighting, gymnastics, the cultivation of the olive tree, measures, weights, and many other things. (Plut. Sympos. 9.3; Diod. l.c. and 5.75; Hyg. Fab. 277.) The powers which he possessed himself he conferred upon those mortals and heroes who enjoyed his favour, and all who had them were under his especial protection, or are called his sons. (Od. x. 277, &c., 15.318, &c., 19.397; Soph. Philoct. 133; Hes. Op. 67; Eustath. ad Hom. pp. 18, 1053.) He was employed by the gods and more especially by Zeus on a variety of occasions which are recorded in ancient story. Thus he conducted Priam to Achilles to fetch the body of Hector (Il. 24.336), tied Ixion to the wheel (Hyg. Fab. 62), conducted Hera, Aphrodite, and Athena to Paris (Hyg. Fab. 92; Paus. 5.19.1), fastened Prometheus to Mount Caucasus (Serv. ad Virg. Eclog. 6.42), rescued Dionysus after his birth from the flames, or received him from the hands of Zeus to carry him to Athamas (Apollod. 3.4.3; Apollon. 4.1137), sold Heracles to Omphale (Apollod. 2.6.3), and was ordered by Zeus to carry off Io, who was metamorphosed into a cow, and guarded by Argus; but being betrayed by Hierax, he slew Argus. (Apollod. 2.1.3.) From this murder he is very commonly called Ἀργειφόντης. (Il. 24.182; comp. Schol. ad Aeschyl. Prom. 563; Ov. Met. 1.670, &c.) In the Trojan war Hermes was on the side of the Greeks. (Il. 20.72, &c.) His ministry to Zeus is not confined to the offices of herald and messenger, but he is also the charioteer and cupbearer. (Hom. Od. 1.143, Il. 24.178, 440, Hymn. in Cer. 380; Eustath. ad Hom. p. 1205.) As dreams are sent by Zeus, Hermes, the ἡγήτωρ ὀνείρων, conducts them to man, and hence he is also described as the god who had it in his power to send refreshing sleep or to take it away. (Hom. Hymn. in Merc. 14, Il. 2.26, 24.343, &c.) Another important function of Hermes was to conduct the shades of the dead from the upper into the lower world, whence he is called ψυχοπομπός, νεκροπομτός, ψυχαγωγός, &c. (Hom. Od. 24.1, 9, Hymn. in Cer. 379, &c.; Eustath. ad Hom. p. 561; D. L. 8.31; Hyg. Fab. 251.)

The idea of his being the herald and messenger of the gods, of his travelling from place to place and concluding treaties, necessarily implied the notion that he was the promoter of social intercourse and of commerce among men, and that he was friendly towards man. (Od. 19.135, Il. 24.333.) In this capacity he was regarded as the maintainer of peace, and as the god of roads, who protected travellers, and punished those who refused to assist travellers who had mistaken their way. (Il. 7.277, &c.; Theocrit. 25.5; Aristoph. Pl. 1159.) Hence the Athenian generals, on setting out on an expedition, offered sacrifices to Hermas, surnamed Hegemonius, or Agetor; and numerous statues of the god were erected on roads, at doors and gates, from which circumstance he derived a variety of surnames and epithets. As the god of commerce, he was called διέμπορος, ἐμπολαῖος, παλιγκάπηλος, κερδέμπορος, ἀγοραῖος, &c. (Aristoph. Pl. 1155; Pollux, 7.15; Orph. Hymn. 27.6; Paus. 1.15.1, 2.9. §. 7, 3.11.8, &c.); and as commerce is the source of wealth, Hermes is also the god of gain and riches, especially of sudden and unexpected riches, such as are acquired by commerce. As the giver of wealth and good luck (πλουτοδότης), he also presided over the game of dice, and those who played it threw an olive leaf upon the dice, and first drew this leaf. (Hom. Il. 7.183; Aristoph. Peace 365; Eustath. ad Hom. p. 675.) We have already observed that Hermes was considered as the inventor of sacrifices, and hence he not only acts the part of a herald at sacrifices (Aristoph. Peace 433), but is also the protector of sacrificial animals, and was believed in particular to increase the fertility of sheep. (Hom. Hymn. in Merc. 567, &c., Il. 14.490, 16.180, &c; Hes. Th. 444.) For this reason he was especially worshipped by shepherds, and is mentioned in connection with Pan and the Nymphs. (Hom. Od. 14.435; Eustath. ad Hom. p. 1766; Aristoph. Thes. 977; Paus. 8.16.1; 9.34.2; Schol. ad Soph. Philoct. 14, 59.) This feature in the character of Hermes is a remnant of the ancient Arcadian religion, in which he was the fertilising god of the earth, who conferred his blessings on man; and some other traces of this character occur in the Homeric poems. (Il. 24.360, Od. 8.335, 16.185, Hymn. in Merc. 27.)

Another important function of Hermes was his being the patron of all the gymnastic games of the Greeks. This idea seems to be of late origin, for in the Homeric poems no trace of it is found; and the appearance of the god, such as it is there described, is very different from that which we might expect in the god of the gymnastic art. But as his images were erected in so many places, and among them, at the entrance of the gymnasia, the natural result was, that he, like Heracles and the Dioscuri, was regarded as the protector of youths and gymnastic exercises and contests (Pind. N. 10.53), and that at a later time the Greek artists derived their ideal of the god from the gymnasium, and represented him as a youth whose limbs were beautifully and harmoniously developed by gymnastic exercises. Athens seems to have been the first place in which he was worshipped in this capacity. (Pind. P. 2.10, Isthm. 1.60; Aristoph. Pl. 1161.) The numerous descendants of Hermes are treated of in separate articles. It should be observed that the various functions of the god led some of the ancients to assume a plurality of gods of this name. Cicero (de Nat. Deor. 3.22) distinguishes five, and Servius (Serv. ad Aen. 1.301, 4.577) four; but these numbers also include foreign divinities, which were identified by the Greeks with their own Hermes.

The most ancient seat of his worship is Arcadia, the land of his birth, where Lycaon, the son of Pelasgus, is said to have built to him the first temple. (Hyg. Fab. 225.) From thence his worship was carried to Athens, and ultimately spread through all Greece. The festivals celebrated in his honour were called Ἕρμαια. (Dict. of Ant. s, v.) His temples and statues (Dict. of Ant. s.v. Hermae) were extremely numerous in Greece. The Romans identified him with Mercury. [Mercurius.] Among the things sacred to him we may mention the palm tree, the tortoise, the number four, and several kinds of fish; and the sacrifices offered to him consisted of incense, honey, cakes, pigs, and especially lambs and young goats. (Paus. 7.22.2; Aristoph. Pl. 1121, 1144; Hom. Od. 14.435, 19.397; Athen. 1.16.)

The principal attributes of Hermes are: 1. A travelling hat, with a broad brim, which in later times was adorned with two little wings; the latter, however, are sometimes seen arising from his locks, his head not being covered with the hat. 2. The staff (ῥάβδος or σκῆπτρον): it is frequently mentioned in the Homeric poems as the magic staff by means of which he closes and opens the eyes of mortals, but no mention is made of the person or god from whom he received it, nor of the entwining serpents which appear in late works of art. According to the Homeric hymn and Apollodorus, he received it from Apollo; and it appears that we must distinguish two staves, which were afterwards united into one: first, the ordinary herald's staff (Il. 7.277, 18.505), and secondly, a magic staff, such as other divinities also possessed. (Lucian, Dial. Deor. 7.5; Verg. A. 4.242, &c.) The white ribbons with which the herald's staff was originally surrounded were changed by later artists into two serpents (Schol. ad Thuc. 1.53; Macr. 1.19; comp. Hygin. Poet. Astr. 2.7; Serv. ad Aen. 4.242, 8.138), though the ancients themselves accounted for them either by tracing them to some feat of the god, or by regarding them as symbolical representations of prudence, life, health, and the like. The staff, in later times, is further adorned with a pair of wings, expressing the rapidity with which the messenger of the gods moved from place to place. 3. The sandals (πέδιλα.) They were beautiful and golden, and carried the god across land and sea with the rapidity of wind; but Homer no where says or suggests that they were provided with wings. The plastic art, on the other hand, required some outward sign to express this quality of the god's sandals, and therefore formed wings at his ancles, whence he is called πτηνοπέδιλος, or alipes. (Orph. Hymn. 27.4; Ov. Met. 11.312.) In addition to these attributes, Hermes sometimes holds a purse in his hands. Several representations of the god at different periods of his life, as well as in the discharge of his different functions, have come down to us. (Hirt, Mythol. Bilderb. i. p. 63, &c.) [L.S]

Hermes

a Greek rhetorician, who is mentioned in the work ad Herennium (1.11), where he is called doctor noster, and an opinion of his is quoted. The MSS. of that passage, however, vary, some having Hermes, and others Hermestes. Some critics have conjectured Hermagoras, but the opinion quoted in the work ad Herennium does not agree with what we know to have been the opinion of Hermagoras. [L.S]

Hermes Trismegistus

and HERMES TRISMEGISTUS (Ἑρμῆς and Ἑρμῆς Τρισμέγιστος), the reputed author of a variety of works, some of which are still extant. In order to understand their origin and nature, it is necessary to cast a glance at the philosophy of the New Platonists and its objects. The religious ideas of the Greeks were viewed as in some way connected with those of the Egyptians at a comparatively early period. Thus the Greek Hermes was identified with the Egyptian Thot, or Theut, as early as the time of Plato. (Phileb. § 23; comp. Cic. de Nat. Deor. 3.22.) But the intermixture of the religious ideas of the two countries became more prominent at the time when Christianity began to raise its head, and when pagan philosophy, in the form of New Platonism, made its last and desperate effort against the Christian religion. Attempts were then made to represent the wisdom of the ancient Egyptians in a higher and more spiritual light, to amalgamate it with the ideas of the Greeks, and thereby to give to the latter a deep religious meaning, which made them appear as a very ancient divine revelation, and as a suitable counterpoise to the Christian religion. The Egyptian Thot or Hermes was considered as the real author of every thing produced and discovered by the human mind, as the father of all knowledge, inventions, legislation, religion, &c. Hence every thing that man had discovered and committed to writing was regarded as the property of Hermes. As he was thus the source of all knowledge and thought, or the λόγος embodied, he was termed τρὶς μέγιστος, Hermes Trismegistus, or simply Trismegistus. It was fabled that Pythagoras and Plato had derived all their knowledge from the Egyptian Hermes, who had recorded his thoughts and inventions in inscriptions upon pillars. Clemens of Alexandria (Strom. 6.4. p. 757) speaks of forty-two books of Hermes, containing the sum total of human and divine knowledge and wisdom, and treating on cosmography, astronomy, geography, religion, with all its forms and rites, and more especially on medicine. There is no reason for doubting the existence of such a work or works, under the name of Hermes, at the time of Clemens. In the time of the New Platonists, the idea of the authorship of Hermes was carried still further, and applied to the whole range of literature. Iamblichus (De Myst. init.) designates the sum total of all the arts and sciences among the Egyptians by the name Hermes, and he adds that, of old, all authors used to call their own productions the works of Hermes. This notion at once explains the otherwise strange statement in Iamblichus (De Myst. 8.1), that Hermes was the author of 20,000 works; Manetho even speaks of 36,525 works, a number which exactly corresponds with that of the years which he assigns to his several dynasties of kings. Iamblichus mentions the works of Hermes in several passages, and speaks of them as translated from the Egyptian into Greek (De Myst. 8.1, 2, 4, 5, 7); Plutarch also (De Is. et Os. p. 375e.) speaks of works attribute to Hermes, and so does Galen (De Simpl. Med. 6.1) and Cyrillus (Contr. Jul. 1.30). The existence of works under the name of Hermes, as carly as the second century after Christ, is thus proved beyond a doubt. Their contents were chiefly of a philosophico-religious nature, on the nature and attributes of the deity, on the world and nature; and from the work of Lactantius, who wrote his Institutes chiefly to refute the educated and learned among the pagans, we cannot help perceiving that Christianity, the religion which it was intended to crush by those works, exercised a considerable influence upon their authors. (See e. g. Div. Instit. 1.8, 2.10, 7.4, 13.)

The question as to the real authorship of what are called the works of Hermes, or Hermes Trismegistus, has been the subject of much controversy, but the most probable opinion is, that they were productions of New Platonists. Some of them appear to have been written in a pure and sober spirit, and were intended to spread the doctrines of the New Platonists, and make them popular, in opposition to the rising power of Christianity, but others were full of the most fantastic and visionary theories, consisting for the most part of astrological and magic speculations, the most favourite topics of New Platonism. Several works of this class have come down to our times, some in the Greek language and others only in Latin translations; but all those which are now extant are of an inferior kind, and were, in all probablility, composed during the later period of New Platonism, when a variety of Christian notions had become embodied in that system. It may be taken for granted, on the whole, thatnone of the works bearing the name of Hermes, in the form in which they are now before us, belongs to an earlier date than the fourth, or perhaps the third, century of our era, though it cannot be denied that they contain ideas which may be as ancient as New Platonism itself. Works

We here notice only the principal works which have been published, for many are extant only in MS., and buried in various libraries. 1. Λόγος, τέλειος

perhaps the most ancient among the works attributed to Hermes. The Greek original is quoted by Lactantius (Div. Instit. 7.18), but we now possess only a Latin translation, which was formerly attributed to Appuleius of Madaura. It bears the title Asclepius, or Hermetis Trismegisti Asclepius sive de Natura Deorum Dialogus, and seems to have been written shortly before the time of Lactantius. Its object is to refute Christian doctrines, but the author has at the same time made use of them for his own purposes. It seems to have been composed in Egypt, perhaps at Alexandria, and has the form of a dialogue, in which Hermes converses with a disciple (Asclepius) upon God, the universe, nature, &c., and quite in the spirit of the New Platonic philosophy. Editions

It is printed in some editions of Appuleius, and also in those of the Poemander, by Ficinus and Patricius. The latter editions, as well as the Poemander, by Hadr. Turnebus, contain: 2. Ὅροι Ἀσκληπιον πρὸς Ἄμμωνα βασιλέα

This is probably the production of the same author as the preceding work. Asclepius, who here calls Hermes his master, discusses questions of a similar nature, such as God, matter, man, and the like. 3. Ἑρμον τοῦ τρισμεγίστου Ποιμάνδρης

his is a work of larger extent, and in so far the most important production of the kind we possess. The title Ποιμάνδρης, or Poemander (from ποιμήν, a shepherd, pastor) seems to have been chosen in imitation of the ποιμήν, or Pastor of Hermas [Hermas], who has sometimes even been considered as the author of the Poemander. The whole work was divided by Ficinus into fourteen, but by Patricius into twenty books, each with a separate heading. It is written in the form of a dialogue, and can scarcely have been composed previous to the fourth century of our era. It treats of nature, the creation of the world, the deity, his nature and attributes, the human soul, knowledge, and the like; and all these subjects are discussed in the spirit of New Platonism, but sometimes Christian, oriental, and Jewish notions are mixed up with it in a remarkable manner, showing the syncretism so peculiar to the philosophy of the period to which we have assigned this work. Editions

It was first published in a Latin translation by Ficinus, under the title Mercurii Trismegisti Liber de Potestate et Sapientia Dei, Tarvisii, 1471, fol., which was afterwards often reprinted, as at Venice in 1481, 1483, 1493, 1497, &c. The Greek original, with the translation of Ficinus, was first edited by Hadr. Turnebus, Paris, 1554, 4to., and was afterwards published again in Fr. Flussatis, Candallae Industria, Bordeaux, 1574; in Patricius' Nova de universis Philosophia Libris quatuor comprehensa, Ferrara, 1593, fol., and again in 1611, fol., and at Cologne in 1630, fol., with a commentary by Hannibal Rosellus. 4. Ἰατρομαθηματικὰ ν̓̀ περὶ κατακλίσεως νοσούντων προδνωστικὰ ἐκ τῶς μαθηματικῆς ἐπιστήμης πρὸς Ἄμμωνα Αἰγύπτιον.

This is a work of less importance, and contains instructions for ascertaining the issue of a disease by the aid of mathematics, that is, of astrology, for the author endeavours to show that the nature of a disease, as well as its cure and issue, must be ascertained from the constellation under which it commenced. The substance of this work seems to have been unknown to Firmicus (about the middle of the fourth century), and this leads us to the supposition that it was written after the time of Firmicus. Editions

The work was published in a Latin translation in Th. Boder's De Ratione et Usu Dierum Criticorum, Paris, 1555, 4to., and in Andr. Argolus' De Diebus Criticis Libri duo, Patavii, 1639, 4to. The Greek original was published by J. Cramer (Astrolog. No. vi. Norimbergae, 1532, 4to.), and by D. Hoeschel. (Aug. Vindelic. 1597, 8vo.) 5. De Revolutionibus Nativitatum

This is likewise an astrological work, and intended to show how the nativity should be regulated at the end of every year. The original seems to have been written in Greek, though some say that it was in Arabic; but it was at any rate composed at a later time than the work mentioned under No. 4. Editions

We now possess only a Latin version, which was edited by Hieronymus Wolf, together with the Isagoge of Porphyrius, and some other works, Basel, 1559, fol. 6. Aphorismi sive Centum Sententiae Astrologicae,

Also called Centiloquium, that is, one hundred astrological propositions, which are supposed to have originally been written in Arabic. Editions

We now have only a Latin translation, which has been repeatedly printed, as at Venice, 1492, 1493, 1501, 1519, fol., at Basel, 1533, fol., 1551, 8vo., and at Ulm, 1651, 1674, 12mo. 7. Liber Physico-Medicus Kiranidum Kiram, id est, regis Persarum vere aureus gemmeusque, &c.,

This belongs to the same class of medico-astrological works. This work is referred to even by Olympiodorus, and must therefore have existed in the fourth century of our era. It is divided into four parts, and is a sort of materica medica, arranged in alphabetical order, for it treats of the magic and medicinal powers of a variety of stones, plants, and animals, and under each head it mentions some mineral, vegetable, or animal medicine. It is generally supposed that this work was originally compiled from Persian, Arabic, or Egyptian sources. Editions

This is as yet printed only in a Latin translation, published by Andr. Rivinus (Leipzig, 1638, and Frankfurt, 1681, 12mo.), though the Greek original is still extant in MS. at Madrid, under the title of Κυρανίδες (from κύριος, lord or master). Works attribted to Hermes but produced in the middle ages

Some of the works bearing the name of Hermes seem to be productions of the middle ages, such as,-- 8. Tractatus vere Aureus de Lapidis Philosophici Decreto

That is, on the philosopher's stone. The work is divided into seven chapters, which are regarded as the seven seals of Hermes Trismegistus. Editions

It was published in Latin by D. Gnosius, Leipzig, 1610, and 1613, 8vo. 9. Tabala Smaragdina

an essay, professing to teach the art of making gold. Editions

It was published at Niirnberg, 1541 and 1545, 4to., and at Strassburg, 1566, 8vo. 10. Περὶ βοτανῶν χυλώσεως

This is only a fragment, but probably belongs to an earlier period than the two preceding works, and treats of similar subjects as the Κυρανίδες. Editions

It is printed at the end of Roether's edition of L. Lydus, de Mensibus, with notes by Baehr. >11. Περὶ σεισμῶν

on earthquakes, or rather on the forebodings implied in them. It is only a fragment, consisting of sixty-six hexameter lines, and is sometimes ascribed to Hermes Trismegistus, and sometimes to Orpheus. Editions

It was first edited by Fr. Morel, with a Latin translation by F. A. Baif, Paris, 1586, 4to., and afterwards by J. S. Schoder, 1691, 4to. It is also contained in Maittaire's Miscellanea, London, 1722, 4to., and in Brunck's Analecta, iii. p. 127. Further Information

For a more detailed account of the works bearing the name of Hermes Trismegistus, see Fabric. Bibl. Graec. vol. i. pp. 46-94; and especially Baumgarten-Crusius, De Librorum Hermeticorum Origine atque Indole, Jena, 1827. [L.S]

Hermes

(Ἑρμῆς; Dor. Ἑρμᾶς). The son of Zeus and of the Naiad Maia, daughter of Atlas. Immediately after his birth upon the Arcadian mountain of Cyllené, he gave proof of his chief characteristics—inventiveness and versatility, united with fascination, trickery, and cunning. Born in the morning, by mid-day he had invented the lyre; in the evening he stole fifty head of cattle from his brother Apollo, which he hid so skilfully in a cave that they could not be found. After these exploits he lay down quietly in his cradle. Apollo, by means of his prophetic power, discovered the thief and took the offender to Zeus, who ordered the cattle to be given up. Hermes, however, so delighted his brother by his playing on the lyre that, in exchange for it, he allowed him to keep the cattle, resigned to him the golden staff of fortune and of riches, with the gift of prophecy in its humbler forms, and from that time forth became his best friend. Zeus made his son herald to the gods and the guide of the dead in Hades. In this myth are contained allusions to several attributes of the god.

In many districts of Greece, and especially in Arcadia, the old seat of his worship, Hermes was regarded as a god who bestowed the blessing of fertility on the pastures and herds, and who was happiest when spending his time among shepherds and dallying with Nymphs, by whom he had numberless children, including Pan and Daphnis. In many places he was considered the god of crops, and also as the god of mining and of digging for buried treasure. His kindliness to man is also shown in his being the god of roads. At cross-roads in particular, there were raised in his honour, and called by his name, not only heaps of stones, to which every passer-by added a stone, but also the quadrangular pillars known as Hermae (q.v.). At Athens these last were set up in the streets and open spaces, and also before the doors. Every unexpected find on the road was called a gift of Hermes (ἕρμαιον). Together with Athené, he escorted and protected heroes in perilous enterprises, and gave them prudent counsels. He took special delight in men's dealings with one another, in exchange and barter, in buying and selling; and in all that is won by craft or by theft. Thus he was the patron of tradespeople and thieves, and was himself the father of Autolycus (q.v.), the greatest of all thieves. He, too, it was who endowed Pandora, the first woman, with the faculty of lying, and with flattering discourse and a crafty spirit. On account of his nimbleness and activity he was the messenger of Zeus, and knew how to carry out his father's commands with adroitness and cunning, as in the slaying of Argos (the guard of Io), from which he derived his epithet of Argos-slayer (Ἀργειφόντης). Again, as Hermes was the sacrificial herald of the gods, it was an important part of the duty of heralds to assist at sacrifices. It was on this account that the priestly race of the Κήρυκες claimed him as the head of their family. (See Eleusinia.) Strength of voice and excellence of memory were supposed to be derived from him in his capacity of herald. Owing to his vigour, dexterity, and personal charm, he was deemed the god of gymnastic skill, which makes men strong and handsome, and the especial patron of boxing, running, and throwing the discus; in this capacity the palaestrae and gymnasia were sacred to him, and particular feasts called Hermaea were dedicated to him. He was the discoverer of music (for besides the lyre he invented the shepherd's pipe), and he was also the god of wise and clever discourse. A later age made him even the inventor of letters, figures, mathematics, and astronomy. He was, besides, the god of sleep and of dreams; with one touch of his staff he could close or open the eyes of mortals; hence the custom, before going to sleep, of offering him the last libation. As he was the guide of the living on their way, so he was also the conductor of the souls of the dead in the nether-world (ψυχοπομπός), and was as much loved by the gods of those regions as by those above. For this reason sacrifices were offered to him in the event of deaths, Hermae were placed on the graves, and, at oracles and incantations of the dead, he was honoured as belonging to the lower world; in general, he was accounted the intermediary between the upper and lower worlds. His worship early spread throughout the whole of Greece. As he was born in the fourth month, the number four was sacred to him. In Argos the fourth month was named after him, and in Athens he was honoured with sacrifices on the fourth of every month. His altars and images (mostly simple Hermae) were in all the streets, thoroughfares, and open spaces, and also at the entrance of the palaestra.

In art he is represented in the widely varying characters which he assumed, as a shepherd with a single animal from his flock, as a mischievous little thief, as the god of gain with a purse in his hand (see illustration), with a strigil as patron of the gymnasia, at other times with a lyre, but oftenest of all as the messenger of the gods. He was portrayed by the greatest sculptors, such as Phidias, Polyclitus, Scopas, and Praxiteles, whose Hermes with the infant Dionysus was discovered in 1877, in the temple of Heré, at Olympia. It is mentioned by Pausanias (vi. 19, 1), and is described by Treu in his Hermes mit dem Dionysosknaben (Berlin, 1878). In the older works of art he appears as a bearded man (see illustration, p. 240); in the later ones, he is found in a graceful and charming attitude, as a slim youth with tranquil features, indicative of intellect and good-will. His usual attributes are wings on his golden sandals (πέδιλα), and a flat, broad-brimmed hat (see Petasus), which in later times was ornamented with wings, as was also his staff. This last (ῥάβδος, κηρύκειον, caduceus) was originally an enchanter's wand, a symbol of power that produces wealth and prosperity, and also an emblem of influence over the living and the dead (see Caduceus), yet even in early times it was regarded as a herald's staff and an emblem of peaceful intercourse. It consisted of three shoots, one of which formed the handle, the other two being intertwined at the top in a knot. The place of the latter was afterwards taken by serpents; and thus arose our ordinary type of herald's staff. By the Romans, Hermes was identified with Mercurius (q.v.). For examples of the myths of Hermes in English literature, see Shelley's Homeric Hymn to Mercury, and Keats's Ode to Maia, with some fine passages in the Prometheus Bound of the former poet.

Hermes Hermes

• rescues infant Aesculapius from pyre: Paus. 2.26.6
• carries infant Dionysus to heaven: Paus. 3.18.11, Paus. 5.17.3
• takes infant Dioscuri to Pellana: Paus. 3.26.2
• hymn of Alcaeus to: Paus. 7.20.4
• his cult in Greece: Hdt. 2.51, Hdt. 2.145
• identified with the Egyptian Thoth, at Bubastis: Hdt. 2.138
• born on Mount Cerycius: Paus. 9.20.3
• washed in springs by nymphs at birth: Paus. 8.16.1
• brought up at Acacesium: Paus. 8.36.10
• nurtured under wild strawberry-tree: Paus. 9.22.2
• with a Thracian deity: Hdt. 5.7
• slays giant Hippolytus: Apollod. 1.6.2
• steals the severed sinews of Zeus: Apollod. 1.6.3
• sent by Zeus to Deucalion: Apollod. 1.7.2
• rescues Ares: Apollod. 1.7.4, Apollod. 1.7.5
• represented with ram: Paus. 2.3.4, Paus. 4.33.4, Paus. 5.27.8, Paus. 9.22.1
• story of H. and ram in the mysteries: Paus. 2.3.4
• averts plague from Tanagra by carrying ram round walls: Paus. 9.22.1
• gives ram with golden fleece to Nephele: Apollod. 1.8.6
• father of Autolycus: Paus. 8.4.6, Apollod. 1.9.17, of Bunus: Paus. 2.3.10, of Ceryx: Paus. 1.38.3, of Cydon: Paus. 8.53.4, of Eleusis: Paus. 1.38.7, father of Eurytus: Apollod. 1.9.17, of Evander: Paus. 8.43.2, of Myrtilus: Paus. 8.14.10, of Norax: Paus. 10.17.5, of Pharis: Paus. 4.30.2, of Polybus: Paus. 2.6.6
• ordered by Zeus to steal Io in form of a cow: Apollod. 2.1.3
• kills Argus the All-seeing: Apollod. 2.1.3
• hence called Argiphontes: Apollod. 2.1.3
• and Athena purify the Danaids for the murder of their husbands: Apollod. 2.1.5
• guides Perseus to the Phorcides: Apollod. 2.4.1
• gives Perseus an adamantine sickle: Apollod. 2.4.2
• receives the winged sandals, wallet, and cap of Hades from Perseus and restores them to the nymphs: Apollod. 2.4.3
• gives Herakles a sword: Apollod. 2.4.11
• father of Abderus: Apollod. 2.5.7
• admonishes Herakles in Hades: Apollod. 2.5.12
• sells Herakles to Omphale: Apollod. 2.6.2
• loves Apemosyne: Apollod. 3.2.1
• conveys infant Dionysus to Ino and Athamas: Apollod. 3.4.3
• brings Dionysus to the nymphs at Nysa: Apollod. 3.4.3
• gives Amphion a lyre: Apollod. 3.5.5, Paus. 9.5.8
• son of Zeus by Maia, born on Cyllene: Apollod. 3.10.1
• represented by a phallus at Cyllene: Paus. 6.26.5
• goes to Pieria and steals the kine of Apollo: Apollod. 3.10.1, Apollod. 3.10.2, Apollod. 3.10.2, Paus. 7.20.3
• inventor of lyre: Paus. 5.14.8
• makes lyre out of shell of tortoise: Paus. 2.19.7, Paus. 8.17.5, Apollod. 3.10.2
• makes a shepherd's pipe: Apollod. 3.10.2
• vanquished in race by Apollo at Olympia: Paus. 5.7.10
• fights Apollo for lyre: Paus. 9.30.1
• gets from Apollo a golden wand and the art of divination: Apollod. 3.10.2
• appointed herald of the gods: Apollod. 3.10.2
• H. with herald's staff: Paus. 5.27.8
• father of Cephalus by Herse: Apollod. 3.14.2
• sent by Zeus with a message to Atreus: Apollod. E.2.10
• leads the goddesses to be judged by Alexander on Ida: Apollod. E.3.2, Paus. 3.18.12, Paus. 5.19.5
• steals Helen and carries her to Egypt: Apollod. E.3.3
• brings up Protesilaus from Hades: Apollod. E.3.29
• gives moly to Ulysses: Apollod. E.7.16
• father of Pan by Penelope: Apollod. E.7.37
• revered at Pheneus: Paus. 8.14.10
• first temple of H. in Peloponnese built by Pelops: Paus. 5.1.7
• festival of: Paus. 9.22.1
• fish sacred to: Paus. 7.22.4
• games in honour of: Paus. 8.14.10
• altars of: Paus. 1.30.2, Paus. 1.34.3, Paus. 5.14.8, 9, Paus. 5.15.5, Paus. 9.34.3
• images set up in gymnasiums: Paus. 4.32.1
• gymnasium of: Paus. 1.2.5
• square-shaped or limbless images of H. first made by Athenians: Paus. 1.24.3, Paus. 4.33.3
• multiplies the flocks: Paus. 2.3.4
• angry at death of Myrtilus: Paus. 5.1.7
• oracle of: Paus. 7.22.2ff.
• springs sacred to H. Paus. 8.16.1
• Titles-Acacesian: Paus. 8.3.2, Paus. 8.30.6, Paus. 8.36.10
• Aepytus: Paus. 8.47.4
• Champion: Paus. 9.22.1, 2
• Cyllenian: Paus. 8.17.1, 2, cf. Paus. 6.26.5
• Epimelius: Paus. 9.34.3
• of the Games: Paus. 5.14.9
• of the Grotto: Paus. 10.32.5
• Leader: Paus. 8.31.7
• of the Market: Paus. 1.15.1, Paus. 2.9.8, Paus. 3.11.11, Paus. 7.22.2, Paus. 9.17.2
• Parammon: Paus. 5.15.11
• of the Portal: Paus. 1.22.8
• Polygius: Paus. 2.31.10
• Pronaos: Paus. 9.10.2
• Ram-bearer: Paus. 9.22.1, cf. Paus. 2.3.4, Paus. 4.33.4, Paus. 5.27.8
• Wily: Paus. 7.27.1
• Temples and sanctuaries-Paus. 2.2.8, Paus. 5.1.7, Paus. 8.14.10, Paus. 8.17.1, 2, Paus. 8.30.6, Paus. 8.32.2, 3, Paus. 8.47.4, Paus. 9.22.1, 2
• Images and other representations in art-Paus. 1.15.1, Paus. 1.17.2, Paus. 1.22.8, Paus. 1.24.3, Paus. 1.27.1, Paus. 1.28.6, Paus. 2.2.8, Paus. 2.3.4, Paus. 2.9.8, Paus. 2.10.7, Paus. 2.19.6, 7, Paus. 2.31.10, Paus. 2.34.1, Paus. 2.38.7, Paus. 3.10.6, Paus. 3.11.11, Paus. 3.18.11, 12, Paus. 3.22.13, Paus. 3.24.7, Paus. 4.32.1, Paus. 4.33.3, 4, Paus. 5.11.8, Paus. 5.17.3, Paus. 5.20.2, Paus. 5.27.8, Paus. 6.26.5, Paus. 7.22.2, Paus. 7.27.1, Paus. 8.14.10, Paus. 8.17.2, Paus. 8.31.6, 7, Paus. 8.33.4, Paus. 8.34.6, Paus. 8.35.2, Paus. 8.36.10, Paus. 8.39.6, Paus. 9.10.2, Paus. 9.17.2, Paus. 9.22.1, Paus. 9.24.5, Paus. 10.12.6
• square or limbless images: Paus. 1.24.3, Paus. 2.10.7, Paus. 4.33.3, Paus. 7.22.2, Paus. 7.27.1, Paus. 8.31.7, Paus. 8.32.1, Paus. 8.33.4, Paus. 8.39.6, Paus. 10.12.6
• images at boundaries: Paus. 2.38.7, Paus. 3.10.6, Paus. 8.34.6, Paus. 8.35.2