Home Forum Members Newsletter Photos Symposia Rituals Temenoi Eranoi & Thiasoi Exegetai Mantikoi Agon Retreat The Gods Hellenismos Shop Links Join Contact

Hermes Blessing: Hermes values wit and daring, dependability and promptness. He despises tediousness and idleness, and when he sees this setting in, will shake things up, just to see what happens. He aids thieves, magicians, messengers, gamblers, and public speakers. Epithets: Use the Greek or one of the English translations. In Greek, words had a special form when used to talk directly to someone. This was called the "vocative" (think: invoke, evoke). If you choose to use the Greek, you can use this form when directly praying to a god. The vocative form for some of the epithets are given (more to be added later.) Polutropos [po LOO tro pos]. The Many Turning One. The Well Traveled. Knows the way, he’s been there and back, making the flip turn in life, just when you think you know the way, he turns everything around, get used to the not knowing, there is great wisdom there. Sleight of hand, the grift, Hermes can’t con an honest man, but he can sure make you laugh. To use this epithet in meditation and ritual, use the vocative form: Polutrope [po-loo-tro-PAY] Diaktoros [dee-AHK-to-ros]. Guide. Messenger. Hermes is the messenger of the gods. He is well-travelled and knows the way. To use this epithet in meditation and ritual, use the vocative form: Diaktore [dee-ahk-to-RAY]. Psychopompos [psoo-ko-pom-POS - sounding out both the p and the s]. Guide of the Dead. Conductor of Souls. Hermes was part of the chthonic mysteries both at Eleusis and Samothrake. He guided souls to the afterlife and occasionally back again. To use this epithet in meditation and ritual, use the vocative form: Psychopompe [psoo-ko-pom-PAY] Agonios [ah-GO-nios]. Lord of the Games. Hermes is a god of sport and competition. In ancient Greece, athletics were a way of developing arete, personal excellence. The agon or sacred contest, was a major part of many festivals and the athletes that won them often went on to become political and military leaders. Hermes (along with Hercules) was the god most often found presiding over the gymnasiums where these athletes practiced. To use this epithet in meditation and ritual, use the vocative form: Agonie [ah-go-nee-AY] Other Epithets: Agreiphontes (Argus-Slaying), Enodios (of the Road), Eriounios (Luck-Bringer), Kerykes (Herald), Khthonios (of the Earth), Kourotrophos (Protector of Youth), Kranaios, Kriophoros (Ram-Bearer), Logios (of Speech), Nomios (Protector of Flocks), Propulaios (Before the Gates), Trismegestos (Thrice-Greatest) Symbols: caduceus, winged boots, a cap, 4 Animal(s): ram, boar Sacrifices: frankincense, storax, mastic, white sandal, mace, moly, nettles, asafoetida, ginger, opal, mercury, marjolane Primary Cult Center(s): Arcadia Festivals: Hermaia (celebrated on various dates) Khutroi: 13 Anthestrion (February-March) 4th day of the month Ways to honor: Be cunning and daring. Work smarter, not harder. Study divination and magic - both of the sacred and the stage variety. Gamble. Travel, especially if you find yourself in a rut. If you drop change, leave it. If you find some, pick it up and thank Hermes for the gift. Always deliver messages entrusted to you, especially those to and from the dying. Sit with a dying friend or relative. Be their guide to the next world. For more information: Aeschylus' Eumenides, and Prometheus Bound Apollodorus' Library 1.6.2-3, 2.1.3, 2.4.2-3, 3.2.1, 3.4.3, 3.10.2 Dio Chrysostom's Orations 78.19 Euripides' Ion Herodotus' The Histories 2.51, 2.67, 2.138 Hesiod's Theogony 440, 938 Hesiod's Works and Days 65 Homer's Iliad 24.330, 24.334-469, 24.679-694, 182, 437-439, 461 Homer's Odyssey 5.145, 5.28-148, 8.320, 10.275-308, 24.1-10 Homeric Hymn to Demeter 2.334-384, 407 Homeric Hymn to Hermes 4 Homeric Hymn to Hestia 29 Hyginus' Fabulae 195 Hyginus' Poetica Astronomica 2.7, 2.16, 2.42 Ovid's Metamorphoses 2.685-835, 8.618-724, 11.303-317, 4.288-293 Ovid's Fasti 5.667 Pausanias' Description of Greece 1.24.3, 2.19.7, 2.3.4, 4.33.3, 5.19.5, 5.7.10, 7.20.3, 8.16.1, 8.17.5, 8.36.10 9.5.8, 9.30.1 Papyri Graeci Magicae 5.172-212, 5.403-407, 7.672-676, 7.919-924, 17b.5, Pindar's Olympian Odes 6.79-80 Pindar's Pythian Odes 2.10, 12 Plato's Cratylus 407e-408a Plato's Phaedrus 264c Sophocles' Searching Satyrs Links About Hermes by El Sharra Encyclopedia Mythica Hermes: a Masculinity of Love