The Greek Messenger God Hermes (Roman Mercury) and His Child Hermaphroditus
© Linda Casselman
FTD's popular logo of a man with winged shoes and helmet running with a bouquet of flowers in his handis a depiction of the Greek messenger god Hermes. Hermes, identified with the Roman counterpart Mercury, is the son of Zeus and Maia, the daughter of a Titan. Hermes is the god of trade, roads, merchants, and thieves, and is usually depicted as a young man wearing winged sandals, a wide-brimmed often-winged hat or helmet, and carrying a herald’s staff.
The staff, known as Caduceus, is a winged rod, representing a phallus, with two serpents wrapped around it, signifying the creative energy and magical balance between the masculine and feminine. This symbol is still with us today as the universal emblem of medicine.
The Mythology of Hermes
Much beloved by all of the Greek deities, this god enjoyed playing tricks. When the gods wished to retrieve the body of the slain hero Hector from Achilles, they sent Hermes, as he was able to easily cross between the realms of the living and the dead; it was his divine duty to guide the dead into Hades, the Greek underworld. The sea nymph, Thetis, however, persuaded her son Achilles to leave Hector’s body at peace once and for all, so the plan was no longer necessary.
Hermes sired many children throughout Greek mythology: Priapus, Ceryx, Aethalides, Echion, Eurytus, Abderus, Cephalus, Agreus, Bunus, Lycus, Nomius, Pherespondus, and Pronomus.
The Story of Hermes' Child Hermaphroditus
One offspring that is particularly interesting is Hermaphroditus. Hermes' greatest love affair was with the goddess of love, Aphrodite. From this union was born Hermaphroditus, a female boy. The story goes that Hermaphroditus was an extremely beautiful boy that excited the affections of the nymph Salmacis, but Hermaphroditus ignored her advances.
The nymph prayed vehemently to the gods that she should be forever united with her desired lover and so the gods granted her wish. Hermaphroditus and Salmacis were then physically merged while Hermaphroditus was bathing, thus creating a female boy, and giving us our modern word for this condition, hermaphrodite.
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