Hermes (/ˈhɜːrmiːz/; Greek: Ἑρμῆς) is a deity in ancient Greek religion and mythology.

Hermes is considered the herald of the gods, as well as the protector of human heralds,
travellers, thieves,[1] merchants, and orators.[2][3] He is able to move quickly and freely
between the worlds of the mortal and the divine, aided by his winged sandals. Hermes
plays the role of the psychopomp or "soul guide" — a conductor of souls into the afterlife.[4][5]
In myth, Hermes functioned as the emissary and messenger of the gods,[6] and was often
presented as the son of Zeus and Maia, the Pleiad. Just as well, he is regarded as "the
divine trickster,"[7] for which Homer offers the most popular account in his Hymn to Hermes.
[8]

His attributes and symbols include the herma, the rooster, the tortoise, satchel or

pouch, talaria (winged sandals), and winged helmet or simple petasos, as well as the palm
tree, goat, the number four, several kinds of fish, and incense.[9] However, his main symbol
is the caduceus, a winged staff intertwined with two snakes copulating and carvings of the
other gods.[10] His attributes had previously influenced the earlier Etruscan god Turms, a
name borrowed from the Greek "herma".[11]
In Roman mythology, Hermes was known as Mercury,[12] a name derived from the
Latin merx, meaning "merchandise," and the origin of the words "merchant" and
"commerce.

The earliest form of the name Hermes is the Mycenaean Greek *hermāhās,[14] written 𐀁𐀔𐁀 e-

ma-a2 (e-ma-ha) in the Linear B syllabic script.[15] Most scholars derive "Hermes" from Greek
ἕρμα herma,[16] "stone heap."[17]
The etymology of ἕρμα itself is unknown, but is probably not a Proto-Indo-European word.
[14]
 R. S. P. Beekes rejects the connection with herma and suggests a Pre-Greek origin.
[14]
 However, the stone etymology is also linked to Indo-European *ser- ("to bind, put
together"). Scholarly speculation that "Hermes" derives from a more primitive form meaning
"one cairn" is disputed.[18] Other scholars have suggested that Hermes may be a cognate of
the Vedic Sarama.[19][20]
It is likely that Hermes is a pre-Hellenic god, though the exact origins of his worship, and its
original nature, remain unclear. Frothingham thought the god to have existed as a
Mesopotamian snake-god, similar or identical to Ningishzida, a god who served as
mediator between humans and the divine, especially Ishtar, and who was depicted in art as
a Caduceus.[21][22] Angelo (1997) thinks Hermes to be based on the Thoth archetype.[23] The
absorbing ("combining") of the attributes of Hermes to Thoth developed after the time of
Homer amongst Greeks and Romans; Herodotus was the first to identify the Greek god
with the Egyptian (Hermopolis), Plutarch and Diodorus also, although Plato thought the
gods to be dis-similar (Friedlander 1992).[24][25]
His cult was established in Greece in remote regions, likely making him originally a god of
nature, farmers, and shepherds. It is also possible that since the beginning he has been a
deity with shamanic attributes linked to divination, reconciliation, magic, sacrifices,
and initiation and contact with other planes of existence, a role of mediator between the
worlds of the visible and invisible.[26] According to a theory that has received considerable
scholarly acceptance, Hermes originated as a form of the god Pan, who has been identified
as a reflex of the Proto-Indo-European pastoral god *Péh2usōn,[27][28] in his aspect as the god
of boundary markers. Later, the epithet supplanted the original name itself and Hermes
took over the roles as god of messengers, travelers, and boundaries, which had originally
belonged to Pan, while Pan himself continued to be venerated by his original name in his
more rustic aspect as the god of the wild in the relatively isolated mountainous region
of Arcadia. In later myths, after the cult of Pan was reintroduced to Attica, Pan was said to
be Hermes's son.
The image of Hermes evolved and varied along with Greek art and culture. In Archaic
Greece he was usually depicted as a mature man, bearded, and dressed as a traveler,
herald, or pastor. This image remained common on the Hermai, which served as boundary
markers, roadside markers, and grave markers, as well as votive offerings.
In Classical and Hellenistic Greece, Hermes was usually depicted as a young, athletic man
lacking a beard. When represented as Logios (Greek: Λόγιος, speaker), his attitude is
consistent with the attribute. Phidias left a statue of a famous Hermes Logios
and Praxiteles another, also well known, showing him with the baby Dionysus in his arms.
At all times, however, through the Hellenistic periods, Roman, and throughout Western
history into the present day, several of his characteristic objects are present as
identification, but not always all together.[30][31] Among these objects is a wide-brimmed hat,
the petasos, widely used by rural people of antiquity to protect themselves from the sun,
and that in later times was adorned with a pair of small wings; sometimes this hat is not
present, and may have been replaced with wings rising from the hair.
Another object is the caduceus, a staff with two intertwined snakes, sometimes crowned
with a pair of wings and a sphere.[32] The caduceus, historically, appeared with Hermes, and
is documented among the Babylonians from about 3500 BC. Two snakes coiled around a
staff was also a symbol of the god Ningishzida, who, like Hermes, served as a mediator
between humans and the divine (specifically, the goddess Ishtar or the supreme Ningirsu).
In Greece, other gods have been depicted holding a caduceus, but it was mainly
associated with Hermes. It was said to have the power to make people fall asleep or wake
up, and also made peace between litigants, and is a visible sign of his authority, being used
as a sceptre.[30] The caduceus is not to be confused with the Rod of Asclepius, the patron of
medicine and son of Apollo, which bears only one snake. The rod of Asclepius was
adopted by most Western doctors as a badge of their profession, but in several medical
organizations of the United States, the caduceus took its place since the 18th century,
although this use is declining. After the Renaissance the caduceus also appeared in the
heraldic crests of several, and currently is a symbol of commerce.[30]
Hermes' sandals, called pédila by the Greeks and talaria by the Romans, were made of
palm and myrtle branches but were described as beautiful, golden and immortal, made a
sublime art, able to take the roads with the speed of wind. Originally, they had no wings,
but late in the artistic representations, they are depicted. In certain images, the wings
spring directly from the ankles. Hermes has also been depicted with a purse or a bag in his
hands, wearing a robe or cloak, which had the power to confer invisibility. His weapon was
a sword of gold, which killed Argos; lent to Perseus to kill Medusa.[

Hermes began as a god with strong chthonic, or underworld, associations. He was

worshipped in ancient times "the god of the road between the Under and the Upper world",
and this function gradually expanded to encompass roads in general, and from there
boundaries, travelers, sailors, and commerce.[22]

As a chthonic and fertility god[edit]

Beginning with the earliest records of his worship, Hermes has been understood as
a chthonic deity (heavily associated with the earth and/or underworld).[22] As a chthonic
deity, the worship of Hermes also included an aspect relating to fertility, with
the phallus being included among his major symbols. The inclusion of phallic imagery
associated with Hermes and placed, in the form of herma, at the entrances to households
may reflect a belief in ancient times that Hermes was a symbol of the household's fertility,
specifically the potency of the male head of the household in producing children.[22]
The association between Hermes and the underworld is related to his function as a god of
boundaries (the boundary between life and death), but he is considered a psychopomp, a
deity who helps guide souls of the deceased to the afterlife, and his image was commonly
depicted on gravestones in classical Greece.[22]