Hermes is the Greek god of commerce. Hermes was born very playful and right away Zeus loved him very much. Zeus knew he was going to have a lot of fun raising Hermes. When Hermes was only a few days old he got out of the blanket that his mother had him wrapped in and escaped from his crib. He ran off on his own very quickly. Hermes was born with the ability to run fast. He also was very smart for such a young baby. To the Greeks, mythology was a literal part of their histories. The Greeks in particular used myths to explain natural phenomena and many other occurrances. One of these gods revered by the Greeks was Hermes, the winged messenger of the gods. There are many myths associated with this god. The importance and significance affects the Greeks in many ways. Like other Greek gods, Hermes has relatives, myths, and symbols. Hermes is a god of many. He is the god of roads, mail, and travel. Hermes, known to the Romans as Mercury, was originally a fertility god, and then became the god of roads and travel. He was also known as Hermes Psychopompos, because he escorted souls to Hades. Eventually, many other fields fell under his wide jurisdiction. He became responsible for increase in the animal world, as well as being the god of commerce, manual skill, oratory and eloquence, thieves and the wind. He was even the patron of athletes, especially wrestlers, basically all activities that required skill and dexterity. He had many children by various godesses and mortals, including Pan, his son by Dryope, Cephalus, by Herse, and Ceryx, by Pandrosus. He had many children with the goddess Aphrodite, including Hermaphroditus, also known as Atlantius, Eunomia, Peitho, Rhodos, and Tyche. Hermes appears in more myths than any other god, due to his role as a messenger. When Zeus was to marry Hera, it was his duty to gather all of the guests together. When one nymph, Chelone refused to come, he turned her into a tortoise. Hermes also played a large part in the killing of Argos, the reason for his epithet of Argeiphontes, or Argos-slayer. He killed this giant so that Io, Zeus's lover, could be free of his watchful eyes. Hermes lent the helmet of darkness, his sandals, his sword, and a brazen shield to Perseus on his quest to slay Medusa. He was responsible for giving the art of language to Pandora. Hermes also stole back Zeus's sinews from the Titan Typhus. Lastly, he guided Heracles to the underworld on his quest to fetch Cerberus. He is a guide who knew the way to the underworld. So he would show the dead souls the way to the underworld. Hermes is also known as the patron of traders, merchants, thieves and everyone who lived by their wits. Hermes is a master thief. He started his career as a thief before he was more than a few hours old! It was his intelligence and theft abilities in the following myth that won him recognition as a god. 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 heard of cows for the lyre. There are many responsibilities and important jobs of Hermes. He is the link to the real world. He also protects the travelers. Hermes guides souls to the afterlife when they die. He also tricked gods for his own amusement. Hermes is the link between mortals and Olympians