HERMES, the god who crosses boundaries between people and worlds

Hermes in Greek mythology (Latin name Mercury), is the Olympian god of boundaries and of the travelers who cross them, of shepherds and cowherds, of orators and wit, of literature and poets, of athletics, of weights and measures, of invention, of commerce in general, and of the cunning of thieves and liars.
Hermes is the messenger of the gods and the fastest of all the gods and goddesses. He is the son of Zeus and Maia. Hermes is an incredibly clever god. He found a tortoise outside of his cave and displayed his godly talent by placing strings over the shell, inventing the first lyre.

Hermes is associated with Wednesday.

He guides the dead down to Hades in the Underworld and is one of the Gods that does a lot of inventing. For musicians he invented the lyre, the pipes, the musical scale and for the scientists he invented the astronomy, weights and measurement.

One of the most famous myths about Hermes shows his extreme intellect. One day after his mother fell asleep, Hermes tip-toed to the pasture where his brother Apollo kept a large heard of cows. Thinking of mischief, he picked the fifty best cows. To keep Apollo from knowing which direction he led the cows, Hermes wrapped the cows’ hooves with bark to cover the tracks. He also tied brooms to the cows’ tails so it would erase any tracks. To confuse Apollo even further, he tied bundles of branches to his own feet and drove the cows backward out of the pasture. He hid the cows in a near- by grove. The next day, Apollo stormed into the cave where Hermes lived and commanded that he return the cows at once. Hermes made an excuse but it didn’t fool Apollo. Apollo chased Hermes out of the cave and Zeus saw the toddler running from Apollo and laughed at the scene. He then asked very politely that Hermes would show where the cows were hidden. Obeying his father’s commands, he showed Apollo where he had hid the cows. Apollo quickly noticed that two of his cows were missing. Expecting Apollo to become angry, he pulled out a lyre and played beautiful music. Apollo, being the god of music and all, forgave his brother and exchanged his herd of cows for the lyre.