Hermes' Birth.

The Mythology of Hermes' birth.

The Mythology of Hermes' birth.

Zeus cheated on Hera once again with Maia. When Maia got pregnant, Zeus decided to go back to Mount Olympus before he got in trouble, and frankly, he got bored of Maia. Maia gave birth to a son in a cave and named him Hermes. Hermes, being mischievous, waited until his mother was asleep.

When Maia fell asleep, Hermes wriggled out of her arms and began to search for something to do. That's when he spotted a beautiful Tortoise. It had a huge shell with light and dark brown spots on it. Hermes thought it was the most beautiful thing in the world, so he chose to honor it by making it a unique instrument. He killed the poor tortoise and carved its shell into a U shape. But that wasn't an instrument on its own. So Hermes set out once more to find something to make the strings out of.

As he was wandering, he found a herd of bright red cows. A statue of Apollo stood nearby, and Hermes figured that his brother could lend him a few. He took fifty cows, half of what Apollo had. As Hermes took Apollo's cows, he found he liked to steal! "Huh. Maybe I'm supposed to be the god of thieves then," he said to himself softly. He hid the cows in a nearby meadow and sacrificed two of them. One to the Olympians, and one to himself. He used the guts of the cow he sacrificed to himself as the strings of his new instrument. He called it the lyre. Then, Hermes went back to his mother to get some rest.

Later, Apollo went to his herd and counted them as usual. He counted fifty. Then he counted them again. Still fifty. He knew about his new brother because he was born under the sun, but he had no idea about the cows, for that had happened under his sister's reign, at night. So he stormed over to the cave where Maia and Hermes were sleeping. "HERMES! I SWEAR ON THE STYX, IF YOU STOLE MY COWS I'LL-"
"What cows? Mommy, I'm scared. Who is this?" Said Hermes.
"THE COWS YOU STOLE EARLIER TODAY!" Shouted Apollo.
"I didn't steal any cows. I've been here the entire time!" Said Hermes, worried.
"Fine, then let's go see Dad," Said Apollo, haughtily.
"Apollo, give him a break. He's only a child," Said Maia.
"Well, if he didn't do anything, he won't be afraid to go see dad, right, Hermes?"
"Fine then!" Said Hermes, "Let's go!"

So the two went to their father, Zeus. "Dad, tell Hermes to give me my cows back!"
"Hermes?"
"Yes, Dad?"
"Give your brother his cows back," Said Zeus in a father-like voice.
"But I-"
"BOY, I AM NOT IN A GOOD MOOD TODAY! DO NOT TRY ME!"
"Fine, fine. I'll show you where they're hidden," Said Hermes.

As they walked, Hermes began to play his new instrument. He didn't sing, but the way he played was so moving, Apollo yearned for more. "Wait, Hermes," said Apollo.
"Yes, brother?" Said Hermes, innocently.
"Listen, if I give you all my cows, the title of 'divine herdman', and this caduceus, can I have that instrument?"
"Oh, you mean this lyre, well, I guess, you'll be better at it than I anyhow," He said, passing it to him. Hermes took the rest of the cows and took his place on Olympus and became the messenger of the Gods, along with being the god of travelers, thieves, and herding. His symbol is used throughout companies today, along with the very caduceus Apollo gave him that day.