Hermes The Trickster
Hermes, also called Mercury to the Romans, was born of the nymph Maia and fathered by Zeus, king of the Gods. To say Hermes was ambitious would be an understatement. On his very first day after birth he snuck off and stole the cattle of Apollo, his older brother and also one of the Olympian Gods.
Hermes is the trickster, the mischief-maker. He is the God of thieves. When Apollo saw one-day-old Hermes making off with his cattle, he apprehended the infant and brought him before their father, king of the Gods, Zeus. According to the Homeric Hymns, "Hermes looked Zeus in the eye and winked" and lied about stealing the cattle!
A liar Makes A Lyre
It's an amusing story and has a good ending too. You see, while Hermes was cattle rustling, he gathered some cow intestines and a tortoise shell, and with these ingredients, invented the musical instrument called the lyre. Lyre is pronounced like the word "liar." Ha!
Anyway, his brother Apollo was so taken by the sound that he traded Hermes his cattle for this one instrument. This is why Apollo is considered the God of music. In fact, the Muses, where the word "music" comes from, became his entourage and the lyre became more associated with Apollo rather than with its inventor, Hermes.
Many images of Apollo show him with the lyre. He is usually portrayed as clean-shaven, youthful, and calm. Even after slaying the great python, Apollo in perhaps the most famous statue of him, which dates back nearly 2000 years, looks as serene as someone just getting up from an afternoon nap.
Hermes, Messenger God
Hermes, on the other hand, is anything but tranquil. He has wings on his feet, a herald's wand, and an invisibility cap. He's in motion. It is no coincidence that he is the messenger God and the God of athletes, particularly runners.
He can become invisible with his special cap and a moment later, appear elsewhere. He gets in and out of predicaments routinely. He is the only mythological figure aside from Hades, lord of the underworld, who can make the journey from Mt. Olympus, home of the Gods all the way to 'hell and back' and survive.
He is able to go from the seat of the Gods to the underworld and emerge unscathed. Only the master trickster can do that and so swiftly upon his winged sandals. How does one make that trip? According to Hermes, by finding holes.
The earliest representations of Hermes were blocks of stone or wood with a phallus sticking out and are called herms. Vase paintings of Hermes often show him with an erection. One could say that Hermes was a god in search of holes.
The herms themselves also served as boundary markers between properties and cities. Even in this way, Hermes is associated with transitions and crossings, even transcendence - from Mount Olympus to Hades, from the head to the gut, or from any origin to a destination. Hermes was therefore the God of travelers. Before embarking on a journey it was often customary to make a sacrifice to Hermes.
Apollo, God Of Reason
In a similar fashion, warriors before battle, would often make a sacrifice to Apollo, the God of calm, the God of reason. He is frequently depicted with a bow and arrow. In the Homeric Hymns, he is called "Apollo who shoots from afar."
When we are paying attention to the God of reason, we usually hold things at a distance so we can be objective. We too, shoot from afar. This is what science strives for and Apollo is one of the deities associated with science.
Just as scientists organize the universe into systems which we can understand and sometimes control, Apollo was the God consulted to organize the Greek colonies during conquest. He is orderly, organized, rational, thoughtful, reasonable, and objective. Hermes is disorderly, disorganized, irrational, impulsive, unreasonable, and subjective.
Apollo and Hermes Within Us
Apollo and Hermes are brothers, both sons of Zeus, king of all the Gods. Zeus is the captain, the head. Perhaps our own heads can have these two sons, or two sides.
There are times when we need to be reasonable, rational, and objective such as in making plans for our future, or at the beginning of a budding romance when we side with caution over impulse to avoid getting hurt.
On the other hand, if we're careful all the time, we'll probably never have any fun. Apparently, an important part of mastering our experience in life is learning to walk that fine line between Hermes and Apollo.
And Just For A Laugh...
There is another myth where Aphrodite, the Goddess of love and Ares, the God of war are found in bed together, caught by a net fashioned by Hephaestus as a vengeful trick. All the Gods and Goddesses enter the room and upon seeing this helpless pair under the net, begin to laugh aloud.
Among those snickering Gods are Hermes and Apollo. Rational Apollo turns to Hermes and remarks at how awful and humiliating it must be to have to endure the laughter of the Gods.
Hermes, having a decidedly different perspective, looks at his brother Apollo and just as he did with Zeus on his first day of life, winks and admits that enduring the laughter of the Gods must have its drawbacks but it's worth it for just one night in bed with Aphrodite.