Classics For Pagans
©2004 Yvonne Rathbone
Hermes embodies a rare form of masculinity that is based in joy. This masculinity does not hinge itself on dominion over others, but on challenging the self to create. Because Hermes has no need to prove his might by vanquishing an enemy, he is free to love and can find joy in everything.
Soon after his birth, Hermes leaps out of the confines of his cradle, transgressing the first of many boundaries, and leaves the cave of his mother where he finds a tortoise. He does not rein in his joy at this discovery.
When he saw [the tortoise], the luck-bringing son of Zeus laughed and said: "An omen of great luck for me so soon! I do not slight it. Hail, comrade of the feast, lovely in shape, sounding at the dance! With joy I meet you!" From Homeric Hymn #4
This joy shows up repeatedly throughout this hymn and is reflected in Hermes' epithet of Kharmophrôn, the Glad-Hearted or Heart-Delighting. Hermes, more than any other Greek god, laughs. And when he does, it is that infectious laugh that brings people together.
The masculinity of Hermes is something that is both strong and powerful as well as life-affirming, flexible, gentle and fun. He commands respect for himself and the gods while at the same time allowing for true mirth and joy. While he will not tolerate sacrilege, neither is he bound by the definitions of other, easily transgressing boundaries of propriety as he does physical boundaries. His confidence in himself never waivers, and from this strength he can truly love. And yet, that confidence doesn't rely on the tearing down of others.
Hermes fathered the rather strange looking Pan, half goat and born with a full beard. In the Homeric Hymn to Pan, we are told that upon seeing the child, the nurse fled in terror. But Hermes loved him right away. Bursting with pride, he immediately took him to Olympus to show him off to all the gods.
Then luck-bringing Hermes received him and took him in his arms: very glad in his heart was the god. And he went quickly to the abodes of the deathless gods, carrying his son wrapped in warm skins of mountain hares, and set him down beside Zeus [45] and showed him to the rest of the gods. - From Homeric Hymn #19
This ability to be proud of his son immediately, regardless of difference or deformity, is a radically different model of fatherhood than the severe, judgmental patriarch. Pan will never doubt his father's love or feel the need to change his essential self in order to win respect and approval. Hermes loves him first.
While Hermes liked a good competition, he never hinged his honor on winning. In the Iliad, when the gods had taken sides and were arrayed against each other, Hermes was set to fight Leto, the mother of Apollo and Artemis. But when the time came for their contest, he conceded to her without a fight.
"Leto, with thee will I no wise fight; a grievous thing it is to come to blows with wives of cloud-gathering Zeus; but boast to thy heart's content among the immortal gods that thou didst vanquish me by might and main."
It is Hermes unwavering respect for himself that allows him to concede such a victory to Leto without a loss of honor.
This easy self-acceptance is at the heart of Hermes being, and is expressed from the beginning of his Hymn. Before he even leaps out of his cradle, he is already planning to steal Apollo's cattle. We learn later, that all of his seeming antics are actually part of a plan to become one of the deathless Olympians, and secure a place of honor for himself and his mother.
"I will try whatever plan is best, and so feed myself and you continually. We will not be content to remain here, as you bid, alone of all the gods unfee'd with offerings and prayers. Better to live in fellowship with the deathless gods continually, rich, wealthy, and enjoying stores of grain, than to sit always in a gloomy cave: and, as regards honor, I too will enter upon the rite that Apollo has." Homeric Hymn #4.
He achieves his goal, not through battle or brute force, but by guile and cunning. In the end, he receives more than any victor on the battlefield. Not only does he gain his position among the Olympians and a dominion of his own, he also wins over Apollo. The god who seemed at first to be his enemy, the victim of Hermes' crime, turns out to be instead the loving half-brother and undying friend, due in no small part to the infectious charm of the precocious child-god. Instead of slaying foe, Hermes wins all to his side through persuasion and guile.
The expression of masculinity that is represented in Hermes, strong and loving, self-assured and kind, rule-bending yet respectful, is one we all need. Power within oneself does not hinge on power over others. Competition and the drive to excel do not rely on vanquishing an enemy. Maintaining vital relationships in community does not mean a person must always stay within the strict confines of an unworkable system. Hermes shows us how being strong does not mean we cannot love. Indeed, it is only through respecting our own worth and power, that we are free to express our joy and love to their fullest.
All passages from the Homeric
Hymns are taken from:
Evelyn-White, H. Hesiod, The Homeric Hymns, And Homerica. Loeb
Classical Library. New York, 1920.