CLA204H1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Homeric Hymns, Hector, Sifnos
Document Summary
God of shepherds, travellers, thieves, merchants, orators, herald of the gods, leafs the souls of the dead to hades. Symbols: winged sandals, winged cap [broad-brimmed wanders patasos hat], tortoise. [tortoise shell lyre], staff [caduceus; staff of the herald/messenger] with which he can wave like a wand and make them fall asleep, which is what he did to argos. The name hermes points to something essential that explains his function: a pile of rocks. A pile of rocks delineates a boundary, like in front of a house or road to mark off your property. In the 6th c bce, these piles of rocks became artistically formalized into something called a herm. Refers to a type of formalized pile of rocks that consisted or a rectangular stone post which had features of a mature male face, identified with hermes, and in the middle an erect penis.
