HERMES,

MASTER
TRICKSTER
RETCHEL R. MONTEJO
2B1
 How Was Hermes Born?

Hermes’ birth took place in a cave, but that’s only because

the mother of Hermes, Maia, was purported to be quite shy.
She was a half-nymph, half-Titan, and she wanted to escape
the sight of the world and the gods. So, she took refuge in a
cave atop Mount Cyllene. Despite her hiding away, Zeus
eventually found her, and, as is not surprising, he wanted to
make love to her.
 Hermes Takes His First Steps… and Pretty
Early Too!
 Hermes grew quickly, and on the first night, after he was born, he
was able to crawl away from his mother down and out of the
cave. On his journey, he came across a tortoise, and he thought
that it might be a useful tool. So, he killed it and took out the
meat from the shell. When the shell was empty, he stuck reeds
into it, and in so doing, created the very first lyre.
 Thisinstrument became a great symbol of Greek culture. When
we see the image today, we likely still think of ancient Greece.
 Hermes and Apollo and a Bunch of
Cattle
 Soon after he created the lyre, he continued on his journey,
and he came across a herd of cattle. He found out they were
his half-brother, Apollo’s herd, and so he decided to complete
his first trick. It’s not clear what the reason was, but as we
know with trickster gods, they didn’t always need a
reason. Hermes stole the cattle and hid them away.
 Apollo was around, but he obviously didn’t notice what was
going on until it was too late. He was furious that his cattle
were all gone. He told Maia, Hermes’ mother, about the
theft, and he accused Hermes. Maia was confused because
she had just had her child, and she didn’t believe that he would
be able to do something like steal cattle so quickly. Maia went
to Zeus for help, and Zeus found out that it was true that
Hermes did it.
 So,he demanded his son return the cattle to his other
son. Hermes didn’t want to, but as a peace offering, he gave
Apollo his lute instead. Apollo agreed to that, and he took
up the lute becoming forever the god that was most closely
associated with it. He also became an excellent musician.
 Hermes, the Wily and Great Thief, Full of
Trickery
 Hermes moved on to do big and “better” things. He stole various objects,
especially those that meant something to the gods. For example, he stole:
- Poseidon’s trident
- Aphrodite’s girdle
- Artemis’ arrows
 Not only that but he was sometimes credited as being the one who invented
fire, which was later given to the humans. And he was said to have been the
one to fill Pandora’s box with all the bad things she eventually sprung onto
the world.
 REFERENCE

 https://www.timelessmyths.com/gods/greek/hermes/