Hermes - Hermes (English spelling)

One of the twelve Olympian gods in Greek mythology. He was identified with Mercury in Roman mythology. His father was Zeus and his mother was Maia, the daughter of Atlas. He is said to have been born from the stone god worship in Arcadia, an agricultural region, and the town's Hermes statue is a square stone pillar with only his head and penis carved into it. It is thought that his original form was a pile of stones (called herma) piled up on the side of the road or at the boundary, or a phallic stone pillar erected in the center of such a pile. He was considered to be the god of wealth and good fortune because he was in charge of the proliferation of livestock, and the god of the road, the protector of travelers, the god of translators, commerce, and thieves, the bringer of dreams, and the god who escorts the souls of the dead to the underworld.

According to Homer's "Hymn to Hermes," he was born at dawn, invented the lyre during the day, and stole in the evening. In other words, Zeus had Maia give birth to him in a cave deep in the mountains of Arcadia, without Hera's knowledge, but as soon as Hermes was born, he escaped from the cradle and went on an adventure. First, he found a turtle living in the mountains, peeled off its shell, and made a lyre by stretching seven pieces of sheep gut across it. Then he went to the northernmost part of Greece and stole 50 cows of Apollo. At this time, he showed his cunning by making the cows walk backwards and wearing strange shoes woven from tree branches to deceive his pursuers, but he was finally found by Apollo, and they reconciled by exchanging the cows for the lyre. In addition, he served as Zeus' companion and messenger for the gods, and when Zeus's tendons were cut in a fight with the monster Typhon, he stole the hidden tendons and attached them to Zeus, contributing to his victory. Also, when Zeus' lover Io was being watched maliciously by the hundred-eyed monster Argos, sent by Hera, he put Argos to sleep and killed him.

Many people are said to be the children of Hermes, including Autolycus, the grandfather of Odysseus and a master thief. There are also strange legends about him having an affair with Penelope, Odysseus' wife and the mirror of chastity, to give birth to the faun Pan, and about him having fathered Hermaphroditus (a mythical figure of androgyny) with the goddess Aphrodite. In art, he is often depicted as a light-hearted traveler wearing a wide-brimmed hat, carrying a messenger staff, and wearing winged sandals.

[Tetsuro Nakatsuka]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

ギリシア神話のオリンポス十二神の一人。ローマ神話のメルクリウスと同一視された。父はゼウスで、母はアトラスの娘マイア。農牧地帯のアルカディアの石神崇拝から生まれた神らしく、町のヘルメス像は四角な石柱に頭部と男根だけを彫りつけたもので、その原始形態は道の脇(わき)や境界に積んだ石の山（ヘルマという）、あるいはその中心に立てられた男根形の石柱であったと考えられる。家畜の増殖をつかさどることから富と幸運の神、道の神であるところから旅人の守り神、通訳、商業、盗人の神、また夢の運び手、死者の魂を冥界(めいかい)に送り届ける神などとされた。

　伝ホメロスの『ヘルメスへの賛歌』によると、彼は明け方に生まれ、昼に竪琴(たてごと)を発明し、夕方に盗みをはたらいた。すなわち、ゼウスはヘラの目を盗んでアルカディアの山深い洞穴でマイアに産をさせたが、ヘルメスは生まれ落ちるやいなや揺り籠(かご)を抜け出し、冒険に出かける。まず、山にすむ亀(かめ)をみつけて甲羅(こうら)を剥(は)ぎ、羊の腸（ガット）を7本張り渡して竪琴をつくった。そしてギリシアの北の果てまで行き、アポロンの牝牛(めうし)50頭を盗み出す。このとき狡猾(こうかつ)さを発揮して、牛を後ろ向きに歩かせ、自らは木の枝で編んだ妙な靴を履いて追っ手の目を欺くが、ついにアポロンにみつけだされ、牛と竪琴の交換で仲直りする。このほか、ゼウスのお伴や神々の使者として活躍し、ゼウスが怪物ティフォンと闘って手足の腱(けん)を切られたとき、彼は隠された腱を盗み出してゼウスに取り付け、その勝利に貢献した。またゼウスの愛人イオが、ヘラの遣わした百眼の怪物アルゴスに意地悪く監視されているときには、アルゴスを眠らせて殺した。

　ヘルメスの子とされる者は多いが、そのなかにオデュッセウスの祖父で盗みの名人のアウトリコスがいる。また彼には、オデュッセウスの妻で貞女の鏡とされたペネロペイアと通じて牧神パンを生ませたとか、女神アフロディテとの間にヘルマフロディトス（両性具有の神話的形象）をもうけたという奇妙な伝承もある。美術では、つば広帽子をかぶって伝令杖(つえ)を手に、羽根の生えたサンダルを履く軽快な旅人姿で描かれることが多い。

［中務哲郎］

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