Homeric Hymns

The hymn recalls the birth story of Hermes, god of thieves and travelers. While Hera sleeps, Zeus visits the nymph, Maia, for a liaison. Months later, upon the “ninth moon," Maia gives birth to Zeus’s child, who is “[e]ndowed with wheedling ways, twists, and connivance”: the god Hermes (38).

The young god refuses his cradle one evening and, instead, ventures to find Apollo’s cattle. On his way, Hermes encounters a tortoise; he kills her, takes her shell, collects reeds, and uses the materials to fashion the first lyre. He plays the lyre and sings of his parents, particularly his mother and her beautiful, eclectic home. Suddenly, Hermes is overcome with a desire for meat (an appetite usually exclusive to humans, as gods can eat only ambrosia). He travels to the mountains of Pieria, where Apollo keeps his cattle, and is spotted by a man by the vineyard. Hermes realizes he’s been detected, and he warns the man to keep quiet.

Hermes fashions sandals and herds the cows away from the mountains. He arrives at a meadow and engineers the first fire. He then spears two cows and cooks their meat on skewers. However, though Hermes hungers for the meat, he finds himself unable to eat it: “His holy throat would not take what it longed for” (42). He hides the remaining cattle in a nearby barn and sneaks back home to his cradle. Apollo awakens the next morning to find his cattle missing. When he asks the man by the vineyard if he has seen any strangers pass through, the man recalls the odd scene of a baby with a staff herding cattle. Apollo sees a “slim-winged omen-bird” and knows that the robber is Zeus’s child, Hermes (45). Apollo rushes to Maia’s cave, where Hermes still lies in his cradle. Unable to outwit one another, the two brothers decide to have Zeus settle the disagreement. Apollo recalls the correct story, while Hermes spins a conniving lie, using his infancy to make Apollo’s account appear absurd. Zeus, seeing through Hermes’s lies, tells his sons they must work together to find Apollo’s herd.

Hermes takes Apollo to his cattle and plays the lyre. He sings of the gods and the earth, recalling the entire lineage of the immortals. Apollo is enchanted by the lyre. Hermes gifts Apollo the lyre, bestowing on him power over music. In return, Apollo gifts Hermes a whip, bestowing on him power over herding. Hermes promises to never steal Apollo’s assets again, while Apollo promises to love no other deity more than Hermes. Apollo gifts Hermes a “gold, three-leafed” staff for protection (54).