Hermes (Mercury)
Hermes was the messenger god, known for his quickness. He was quick on his feet, quick thinking, and quick talking. He was young enough to be just starting a beard, wore a winged hat and winged sandals, and carried a winged staff (the caduceus). As a fast mover, speeding between Olympus, earth and the underworld with ease, he ran errands and delivered messages for the other gods, guided souls to the underworld, and protected travellers. As a fast thinker and fast talker he was god of communication and protector of thieves and businessmen. He also protected athletes, invented the lyre, invented numbers and the alphabet, and brought people luck. His quickness made him a charming trickster, who stole Apollo's cattle (on the day he was born) and lied about it, then gave Apollo his lyre in trade for the cattle. Hermes had many affairs and many sons but never settled down with anyone.
Modern Hermes are also known for their quickness. They think quickly, and talk easily. They are verbal, enjoying spinning stories and entertaining people. They can be persuasive, guileful and charming. They like attention from other people and so make a point of being likeable. Hermes tend to know everyone and know their way around. They are curious, friendly, gregarious, good networkers, and often very relaxed socially. They can get into trouble easily even as small child ("normal boyhood hijinks"), and can be restless, impatient, impulsive, adventurous, irrepressible, spontaneous and mercurial. Bored easily, they are often on the move and don't like being tied down. They often love things that go fast: horses, cars, boats, planes, and the feeling of freedom they give. They may be inventive, ingenious, mischievous, a prankster, and gadget-happy. They tend to soak up a lot of general information rather than study anything in serious depth and prefer practical information over more esoteric material.
Themes
the adventurer; the boy who won't grow up; the hyperactive kid; the clown; the explorer; the airman; the spy; the regular guy; the communicator; the journalist; the preacher; the jack of all trades; gadget man; circus/vaudeville performers; the playboy; the Fool; the prodigy; Mr. Clean; the schmoozer; the story teller; the travelling bard
|
Symbols
wings
quicksilver (mercury)
monkeys; snakes
|
Examples
- Athletes/explorers: Lance Armstrong* (cyclist); Buffalo Bill Cody* (frontiersman, showman); Jacques Cousteau* (undersea explorer); Harry Houdini* (escape artist); Howard Hughes* (aviator, filmmaker, businessman); Evel Knievel* (stuntman); Ted Turner* (sailor, media tycoon)
- Communications: Edward de Bono* (corporate consultant); Walter Cronkite* (journalist); John F. Kennedy Jr.* (magazine publisher); Michael Moore* (documentary filmmaker); George Palmer Putman* (publisher, publicist)
- Politics: Ralph Klein* (Canada); Franklin D. Roosevelt* (USA)
- Ministers/evangelists: Billy Graham*; Malcolm X*
- Scientists/engineers: Thomas Edison (inventor); Francis Galton* (geographer, psychologist); B.F. Skinner* (psychologist); Alexander Thom* (engineer, archaeoastronomer)
- Actors: Harry Anderson; Dan Aykroyd; Orlando Bloom; Michael Caine*; Jim Carrey*; Jackie Chan*; Bill Cosby; Hume Cronyn*; Tom Cruise*; Billy Crystal*; Tony Curtis; Matt Damon; Leonardo DiCaprio; Errol Flynn*; Michael J. Fox*; Clark Gable; Cary Grant*; Hugh Grant; Gene Hackman*; Tom Hanks; Woody Harrelson; Dustin Hoffman; Walter Koenig; John Larroquette; Jude Law; Jack Lemmon; Roger Moore; Eddie Murphy; Bill Murray; Mike Myers*; Paul Newman*; Jack Nicholson*; Brad Pitt*; Vincent Price*; Dennis Quaid; Robert Redford*; Jerry Seinfeld; Spencer Tracy*; John Travolta; Rudolph Valentino*; Vince Vaughn; Robin Williams; Owen Wilson
- Artists: John Callahan*; Caravaggio*; Leonardo da Vinci* (also an engineer); Edouard Manet*; Norman Rockwell*; James Thurber* (also a writer); Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec*; Andy Warhol*
- Directors: Ron Howard; Ivan Reitman; Robert Rodriguez
- Music: Bryan Adams; Fred Astaire; Nat King Cole*; John Denver*; Marvin Gaye*; George Gershwin*; Joseph Haydn*; Billy Idol; Julio Iglesias*; Elton John; Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart*; Donny Osmond; Luciano Pavarotti*; Tom Petty; Paul Simon*; Sting*; Richard Strauss*; Giuseppe Verdi*; many many other popular musicians of all eras
- Writers: Giacomo Casanova*; Roald Dahl*; Charles Dickens*; Ian Fleming*; Dick Francis*; Ernest Hemingway*; James Herriot*; Rudyard Kipling*; Louis L'Amour*; C.S. Lewis*; Jack London; Jean-Paul Sartre*; Sir Walter Scott*; John Steinbeck*; Mark Twain*; Jules Verne*
- Also: Prince Andrew (UK); Prince Harry* (UK); Prince Philip (UK)
|
Fictional Hermes
James Bond
Ross, Chandler and Joey on Friends
Peter Pan
Superheroes: Nightcrawler; The Flash
Don Juan
Dennis the Menace
Tom Sawyer; Huckleberry Finn
Hanuman (The Ramayana)
The Monkey King (The Journey to the West)
Wile E. Coyote (Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Show)
Robin Hood
Pinocchio and Jiminy Cricket (Pinocchio)
|