Flying with Style: Hermes

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He is Greek god believed to be the child of Pleiad Maia and Zeus and in archaic art (650-480 BC), he is shown to be a matured man with a long beard but during the 5th century BCE, he was instead shown as an athletic, young beardless man in nude [1]. There’s a possibility that you’ve seen the movie ‘Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief’ or seen previous media in which Perseus kills Medusa and the sword of gold which he uses is said to be borrowed from Hermes, a man who has attributes such as the winged sandals known as ‘talaria’, winged helmet, the rooster, satchel, herma, the tortoise, goat, multiple types of fish, the palm tree, and incense but his most recognisable symbol, known as the caduceus, is a staff with wings which has a pair of snakes intertwining the pole [2].

The origin of his name comes from the Greek word, herma, which means ‘heap of stones’ that were being used in Greece, indicating a landmark or boundaries [1].

In different pieces of content, he is wearing distinct footwear but for the most part, he is wearing winged boots [1] or sandals. His sandals were made of palm and branches of a myrtle plant and described to be golden, beautiful and had the power to move from the mortal and divine worlds with speed and freedom. The people of Greece knew the sandals as the ‘pédila’ but the Romans knew them as ‘talaria’. Some very certain images depict Hermes having wings coming out from his ankles [2].

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In Odyssey, an epic poem by Homer, Hermes has the job of being the messenger of the gods but also working for Hades as the conductor of the dead. While being the protector of travellers, he could have been the god of roads and doorways [1].

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Bibliography

[1] The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica 2020, Hermes, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., viewed October 06, 2020, <https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hermes-Greek-mythology>.

[2] Wikipedia 2020, Hermes, Wikipedia, viewed October 06, 2020, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermes>

Referencing

[1] Adolf Hirémy-Hirschl. (1898). Die Seelen am Acheron. [image]. Available from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Adolf_Hir%C3%A9my-Hirschl_-_Die_Seelen_am_Acheron_-_942_-_%C3%96sterreichische_Galerie_Belvedere.jpg [Access date: 06/10/2020]

[2] https://pixabay.com/users/wal_172619-12138562/. (2020). N/A. [image]. Available from: https://pixabay.com/photos/foot-marble-sculpture-hermes-wing-4793310/ [Access date: 06/10/2020]