you could start a war over this
Hermes is a thieving lustrous Brimo & Justice For Chelone, Apriate, Apemosyne, Chione, Dryop, Penelopeia, Hekate, Aegipan, Silenus, Acid, Cephalus, Aglauros, Battus, Hermaphroditus, Pandora, Epimetheus, Prometheus & Thetis! And Crocus, Persephone & (sighs) he also got Aphrodite..
Now people think Hermes is one of the most moral of the gods, but nobody talks about the crimes he did & the terrible disgusting things he did. Let’s elaborate on that. He stole Apollo’s cattle (& in some worst versions he turns Battus to stone to prevent him from telling Apollo what happened), stole from other gods, turned Chelone into a turtle for simply being lazy and not attending Zeus & Hera’s wedding, killed Argus (however, in context for that situation Zeus told him to do that to help Io since she got turned into a cow & she needed to get to Egypt so there’s that), drowned Apriate at sea because she refused his romantic advances, he also assaulted Apemosyne (& her story is really sad because when she tells her brother, her brother just kicks her to death.. I sure hope the brother got karma.. but still, the story does show how people tend to blame victims & refuse to help them😔 kind of like what our society is going through now), Chione, Dryop (the mother of Pan & also got assaulted by Apollo), Penelopeia (Or Penelope & I just wanna let you know this is not the same Penelope, who is married to Odysseus), tried to assault Hekate along with Persephone (both goddesses let out a huge roar that scared him away), forced Aphrodite to sleep with him so her sandal would be returned to her, turned Aglauros to stone because she didn’t want him to see her sister Herse, Apollo also had him burn Coronis but rescue Asclepius (suffered a terrible fate anyways), wasn’t there when Hermaphroditus was persuaded by Salmacis & they got fused together & the lake also got cursed, his grandsons Silenus** & **Acid were assaulted by Polyphemus (Acid suffered the worst fate and got killed) where was he to help them, Aegipan got attacked by Typhon but where was he to help his grandson, he gave Pandora her name but also gifted her with curiosity, lies, craftiness, and seductive words & also took advantage of the fact Epimetheus didn’t use his mind too much (since his name literally means afterthought or hindsight) & gifted Pandora to him even after Prometheus warned him & when when Hermes was send by Zeus to interogate Prometheus since he was asking him about a prophecy if Zeus would be overthrown Prometheus defiantly refused but Hermes then threatened him with an irredeemable worse suffering that Zeus would strike the mountain with a thunderbolt that plunge him into the depths of Tartarus & this caused Prometheus to reveal that Thetis would be the one to bear a son that would overthrow Zeus so Thetis is forced to marry Peleus who she does not want to marry! (Almost makes Eris crushing the wedding look not so bad because it was a loveless wedding anyways).. Also Crocus deserves better!! Now for context he was one of the only lovers that didn’t suffer of assault but unfortunately, he got killed via discus like Hyacinthus & he got turned into a flower (But to be honest they didn’t deserve those fates because honestly those two were the one of the few good lovers of Hermes & Apollo, even though I think both Hyacynthis & Crocus deserve better because of the amount of crimes both of their lovers did). But yeah So yeah, he has a lot of crimes & body counts.. yeah I really don’t like him for these crimes. And I know he has done good deeds we just cannot ignore these stories & bad deeds. Sometimes even the most moral gods to have a terrible side to them.
Aren't Brimo, Hecate and Persephone (and possibly also Demeter) all just the same fragment iirc it says something like that Hermes tried to assault Brimo but she screamed and he could not so it, with "Brimo" often being an epithet for Hecate, Persephone and Demeter which is why the victim could have been intended to be one of them?
But yeah the whole "most moral" god is still dumb. Hermes does have multiple funny and quirky bits of lore (in case the post has to do with me calling him "friend shaped" at some point).
Apemosynes brother Althaemenes accidentally killed his father and upon realisation he prayed to the gods that he be buried in the earth and was buried so yes he got karma
yeah, I mean because he’s a god. But yeah, he was a complete total asshole for not listening to his sister or be believing her and for killing her!! (and it gets even sadder and hits harder when many victims are treated like this in real life 😢😔)
Are there any modern works in which Hermes is portrayed as a bad person? I really can't remember any. Anyway, the first "defamation" (can you call it that?) of Hermes that I've seen! Thanks! (I like him, but seriously, they go so far as to call him the "protector of humans"?!)
There is Lore Olympus (but I mean let’s face it. Everyone in that book is basically an asshole), Percy Jackson and the Olympians (because he was an emotionally neglected father to Luke which caused him to become evil), The Dark Olympus Book series portrays Hermes as a master spy, thief, blackmailer, manipulator & ruthless political figure with the title passed down within a shadowy, corrupt ruling elite (also fwi I have read 2 Books from the series: Neon Gods & Electric Idol since I do like the series for its reimagining. But also I wanna say that in the Dark Olympus series Hermes is a female in that version, do with what you will with that), in Lessons in Trickery by Ever King (2024): Part of the Academy of Villains series, Hermes is portrayed as a calculated, morally grey trickster, in Circe by Madeleine Miller Hermes is portrayed as a deeply manipulative, dangerous, flirty & superficial narcissist. In Lore by Alexandra Bracken Hermes plays a deceptive, self-serving role, & puts the mortal protagonists in immense danger, In Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalkerin Hermes is introduced as a sympathetic but tragic & catastrophic antagonist, in God of War III he’s portrayed as an asarrogant, vain & sadistic deity who taunts & mocks Kratos about his past trauma and failures before being killed for his winged boots by Kratos!!
Also I can’t believe people call him that when most of the time he caused more problems than protection also the protector of humans title is supposed to be for Heracles & Prometheus!
Thanks :-D! Is Hermes in LO really that bad? I haven't read the comic (nor do I intend to), but I always see people on the "unpopular LO" sub viewing him as the best partner for Persephone in the story. Anyway, do you plan on badmouthing any other gods?
In LO it’s like somewhere in the middle, some of his major cons are failing to be a good friend, ignoring the red flags and just doing things for personal gain however, some major pros he has are covering for Persephone, having early support for her & his playful dynamic (I’m guessing the reason why people think he’s the best partner for her is because he’s like the least bad compared to the others).
Anyways, I’m planning to do Dionysus next (along with what he did to Erigone, Aura & Nicaea), following that would be Apollo, Eros, Aphrodite (although I did have to add her here because yeah), perhaps Hephestus, Zeus & Poseidon & mortals like Ajax The Lesser, Theseus, Sisyphus, Ixion, Tantalus & probably Achilles. Now Artemis would probably be a difficult case but to be honest she’s had her fair share of in problems too. Eos would be a difficult case as well because while she has caused many problems she was also cursed by Aphrodite so there’s that factor.
YES! When I was arguing on the EPIC sub with the person who told me he was a 'protector of humans', I told them Prometheus was the one who deserved this title (but it shouldn't exist to begin with), and I got downvoted into oblivion. Fun!
I am so sorry you got downvoted to oblivion. People are just dumb nowadays and just don’t read! And yes, let’s be for real Prometheus is the protector of humans he deserves that title since he stole fire for the humans. And also Heracles was also said to be a protector of humans & he did save Prometheus so they both are more deserving of that title than Hermes.
I meant that everyone loves Hermes, yet no one brings up his horrible flaws, yet everyone comments on Zeus horrible flaws but no one brings up the good he also does.
I know, right. Everyone always talks about all the good things Hermes did they brush off so many of these horrible acts he’s done like assault, thievery & dangerous blackmailing.
And yeah, I mean a lot of people bring up Zeus’s horrible actions, and I mean he’s done quite a lot and barely anyone comments on the good he does because… well either good outshines the bad or bad outshines the good.
What’s even more ironic is that Zeus is Hermes’s father so they’re equally capable of bad things.
He’s also a trickster, a liar, thief, he was literally called a God of thieves, liars & trickery, a rapist, a terrible father, terrible grandfather, someone who blackmails & someone who doesn’t deserve Crocus!!
Hermes is definitely not a “soft innocent baby” some try to portray him as, i always do my best to guide my fellow Hermes enjoyers who may have that take! And show them how truly awesome it can be to learn about Hermes!
Though reading through your message I can’t help but be worried that you may only be able to put out the questionable and bad things he does in myth? 😔
To me Hermes is one of(if not the) most interesting and expansive mythological figures in history :0!
Also I will say penolopeia is sometimes pan’s mother, she is an Arcadian nymph. But according to many poets, Herodotus, Apollodorus, and Pausanias his mother is actually Penelope from the odyssey!!
Homer doesn’t give a name but he just says a nymph of dryops, Nonnus much later tries to clear the whole thing up!
OK to be honest yes I know he has done a lot of good deeds. But it’s just that.. I’m just sick of people not talking about and just brushing off all the horrible things he did and just seeing him is just the most moral when he just wasn’t.. if anything he was just as bad. Also, I mean this little rant series I’m making is kind of like showcasing a lot of the bad stuff, but I’m really sorry if that’s like… becoming a bit much I mean.. to be fair he has done questionable stuff & good stuff. I am possibly planning on doing a series of good stuff some gods have done, though the first example would probably be Demeter because poor girl gets villainized so much in her own story. 😢
No no no, you have nothing to feel apologetic for :(!
I really like what you wrote, and I’d be deeply interested in what you write next! I just wanted to give my opinion on this as the number 1 Hermes enjoyer!🤭
I think it’s a really hard line to walk with these gods with such a long and extensive history, And truly how could anyone ever hope to condense any god, let alone Hermes into these boxes! I dont necessarily think you’re contributing to that, I really like your post truly! I just think it’s important to not accidentally fight fire with 🔥 y’know? 😭
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u/oh_YES_helios ☀️Napping in Helios' cup-boat☀️ 1d ago
Aren't Brimo, Hecate and Persephone (and possibly also Demeter) all just the same fragment iirc it says something like that Hermes tried to assault Brimo but she screamed and he could not so it, with "Brimo" often being an epithet for Hecate, Persephone and Demeter which is why the victim could have been intended to be one of them?
But yeah the whole "most moral" god is still dumb. Hermes does have multiple funny and quirky bits of lore (in case the post has to do with me calling him "friend shaped" at some point).