Editing Hermes (section)

==Mythology==

===Early Greek sources===

====Homer and Hesiod====
[[Image:Byzantine - Circular Pyxis - Walters 7164 - View C.jpg|left|thumb|300px|This circular Pyxis or box depicts two scenes. The one shown presents Hermes awarding the golden apple of the Hesperides to Aphrodite, whom Paris has selected as the most beautiful of the goddesses.<ref>{{cite web |publisher= [[The Walters Art Museum]]
 |url= http://art.thewalters.org/detail/28991
 |title= Circular Pyxis}}</ref> The Walters Art Museum.]]
According to the [[Homeric hymn|''Homeric Hymn to Hermes'']], [[Zeus]], in the dead of night, secretly made love to [[Maia]],<ref>Gantz, pp. 105–6; ''[[Homeric Hymns]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0138%3Ahymn%3D4 4.5]</ref> who avoided the company of the gods, in a cave of Cyllene. She became pregnant with Hermes. After giving birth to the baby, Maia wrapped him in blankets and went to sleep.  The rapidly maturing infant Hermes crawled away to [[Thessaly]], where, by nightfall of his first day, he stole some of his half-brother [[Apollo (god)|Apollo]]'s cattle and invented the [[lyre]] from a tortoise shell. Maia refused to believe Apollo when he claimed that Hermes was the thief, and Zeus then sided with Apollo. Finally, Apollo exchanged the cattle for the lyre, which became one of his identifying attributes.<ref>[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Apollod.+3.10.2&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022:book=:chapter=&highlight=Maia 3.10.2]</ref> 

The ''Homeric Hymn to Hermes'' invokes the god invokes him as the one "of many shifts (''polytropos''), blandly cunning, a robber, a cattle driver, a bringer of dreams, a watcher by night, a thief at the gates, one who was soon to show forth wonderful deeds among the deathless gods."<ref name="Hymn to Hermes 13" /> The word ''polutropos'' ("of many shifts, turning many ways, of many devices, ingenious, or much wandering") is also used to describe his mortal descendant [[Odysseus]] in the first line of the ''[[Odyssey]]''. In addition to the chelys [[lyre]],<ref name="Homeric hymn to Hermes" /> Hermes was believed to have invented many types of racing and the sport of [[wrestling]], and therefore was a patron of athletes.<ref name="ReferenceD" />

[[Homer]] and [[Hesiod]] portrayed Hermes as the author of skilled or deceptive acts and also as a benefactor of gods and mortals alike. In ''[[Works and Days]]'', when Zeus ordered [[Hephaestus]] to create [[Pandora]] to disgrace humanity by punishing Prometheus's act of giving fire to man, every god gave her a gift, and Hermes's gifts were crafty words and a dubious character. Hermes was then instructed to take her as wife to the [[Titans|Titan]] [[Epimetheus (mythology)|Epimetheus]].<ref name="Works And Days" /> With the help of [[Artemis]], Hermes rescued [[Ares]] from a brazen vessel where he had been imprisoned by [[Aloadae|Otus and Ephialtes]]. In the ''[[Iliad]]'', Hermes is called "the bringer of good luck", "guide and guardian", and "excellent in all the tricks". He was a divine ally of the Greeks against the Trojans, but he also protected [[Priam]] when he went to the Greek camp to retrieve the body of his son [[Hector]] and accompanied them back to Troy.<ref name="ReferenceC" /> In the ''Odyssey'', Hermes helps the protagonist Odysseus by informing him about the fate of his companions, who were turned into animals by the power of [[Circe]]. Hermes instructed Odysseus to protect himself by chewing [[Moly (herb)|a magic herb]]; he also told [[Calypso (mythology)|Calypso]] of Zeus's order to free Odysseus from her island to allow him to continue his journey back home. When Odysseus killed the suitors of his wife, Hermes led their souls to Hades.<ref>Homer. ''The Odyssey''. Plain Label Books, 1990. Trans. [[Samuel Butler (novelist)|Samuel Butler]]. pp. 40, 81–82, 192–195.</ref> 

[[File:Hermes Maia Staatliche Antikensammlungen 2304.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Hermes with his mother Maia. Detail of the side B of an Attic red-figure belly-amphora, c. 500 BC.]]

====Athenian tragic playwrights====
[[Aeschylus]] wrote in ''[[The Eumenides]]'' that Hermes helped [[Orestes]] kill [[Clytemnestra]] under a false identity and other stratagems,<ref name="Brown" /> and also said that he was the god of searches, and those who seek things lost or stolen.<ref>Aeschylus, ''Suppliant Women'' 919. Quoted in ''[http://www.theoi.com/Olympios/HermesGod.html#Travel God of Searchers] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628223133/http://www.theoi.com/Olympios/HermesGod.html#Travel |date=28 June 2011 }}''. The Theoi Project: Greek Mythology.</ref> In ''[[Philoctetes (Sophocles)|Philoctetes]]'', [[Sophocles]] invokes Hermes when Odysseus needs to convince [[Philoctetes]] to join the [[Trojan War]] on the side of the Greeks, and in [[Euripides]]'s ''[[Rhesus (play)|Rhesus]]'' Hermes helps [[Dolon (mythology)|Dolon]] spy on the Greek navy.<ref name="Brown">{{cite book|author=Norman Oliver Brown | title=Hermes the Thief: The Evolution of a Myth|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BzNfeQSXKfcC|year=1990|publisher=Steiner Books|isbn=978-0-940262-26-3|pages=3–10}}</ref>

====Aesop====
[[Aesop]] featured him in several of his fables, as ruler of the gate of prophetic dreams, as the god of athletes, of edible roots, and of hospitality. He also said that Hermes had assigned each person his share of intelligence.<ref>Aesop. Fables 474, 479, 520, 522, 563, 564. Quoted in ''[http://www.theoi.com/Olympios/HermesGod.html#Sleep God of Dreams of Omen] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628223133/http://www.theoi.com/Olympios/HermesGod.html#Sleep |date=28 June 2011 }}; [http://www.theoi.com/Olympios/HermesGod.html#Contests God of Contests, Athletics, Gymnasiums, The Games] '', Theoi Project: Greek Mythology.</ref> One of the most notable fables in which Hermes appears is ''[[the Honest Woodcutter]]''.

===Hellenistic Greek sources===
[[File:Cameo Ptolemaic prince Bab111 CdM Paris.jpg|thumb|250px|[[Sardonyx]] [[Cameo (carving)|cameo]] of a [[Ptolemaic Kingdom|Ptolemaic prince]] as Hermes, [[Cabinet des médailles]], Paris]]

One of the Orphic Hymns Khthonios is dedicated to Hermes, indicating that he was also a god of the underworld. Aeschylus had called him by this epithet several times.<ref>''Orphic Hymn 57 to Chthonian Hermes Aeschylus''. Libation Bearers. Cited in ''Guide of the Dead''. The Theoi Project: Greek Mythology.</ref> Another is the Orphic Hymn to Hermes, where his association with the athletic games held is mystic in tone.<ref>''Orphic Hymn 28 to Hermes''. Quoted in ''God of Contests, Athletics, Gymnasiums, The Games''. The Theoi Project: Greek Mythology.</ref>

[[Phlegon of Tralles]] said Hermes was invoked to ward off ghosts,<ref>Phlegon of Tralles. ''Book of Marvels'', 2.1. Quoted in ''[http://www.theoi.com/Olympios/HermesGod.html#GuideDead Guide of the Dead] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628223133/http://www.theoi.com/Olympios/HermesGod.html#GuideDead |date=28 June 2011 }}''. The Theoi Project: Greek Mythology.</ref> and Apollodorus reports several events involving Hermes. According to Apollodorus, Hermes participated in the [[Gigantomachy]] in defense of Olympus;<ref>[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg001.perseus-eng1:1.6.2 1.6.2].</ref> was given the task of bringing baby [[Dionysus]] to be cared for by Ino and Athamas and later took him to be cared for by the [[Nysa (mythology)|Nysan]] nymphs, later called the [[Hyades (mythology)|Hyades]];<ref>[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg001.perseus-eng1:3.4.3 3.4.3]{{Dead link|date=July 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}.</ref> aided [[Perseus]] in fetching the head of the [[Gorgon]] [[Medusa]],<ref>[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg002.perseus-eng1:2.4.2 2.4.2].</ref> favored the young Heracles by giving him a sword when he finished his education;<ref>[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg001.perseus-eng1:2.4.12 2.4.12].</ref> and lead [[Hera]], [[Athena]] and [[Aphrodite]] to [[Paris (mythology)|Paris]] to be judged by him in a beauty contest;<ref>[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg002.perseus-eng1:e.3.2 E.3.2]{{Dead link|date=July 2024|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}.</ref>

[[Anyte of Tegea]] of the 3rd century BC,<ref>{{cite book|last=Yao|first=Steven G.|author-link=Steven G. Yao|title=Translation and the Languages of Modernism: Gender, Politics, Language|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vXtmlxi7nCwC&pg=PA89|year=2002|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|isbn=978-0-312-29519-6|page=89}}</ref> in the translation by [[Richard Aldington]], wrote, I Hermes stand here at the crossroads by the wind beaten orchard, near the hoary grey coast; and I keep a resting place for weary men. And the cool stainless spring gushes out.<ref>{{cite book|last=Benstock|first=Shari|author-link=Shari Benstock|title=Women of the Left Bank: Paris, 1900-1940|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nZIQXE7bZfsC&pg=PA323|year=2010|publisher=University of Texas Press|isbn=978-0-292-78298-3|page=323}}</ref>

===Lovers, victims and children===
[[File:Lekythos Hermes Herse MAN.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Hermes pursuing a woman, probably [[Herse]]. Attic red-figure amphora, c. 470 BC.]]

*[[Peitho]], the goddess of seduction and persuasion, was said by [[Nonnus]] to be the wife of Hermes.<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://www.theoi.com/Text/NonnusDionysiaca8.html|title=Dionysiaca|last=Nonnus|pages=8. 220 ff}}</ref>
*[[Aphrodite]], the goddess of love and beauty, was wooed by Hermes. After she had rejected him, Hermes sought the help of [[Zeus]] to seduce her. Zeus, out of pity, sent his eagle to take away Aphrodite's sandal when she was bathing, and gave it to Hermes. When Aphrodite came looking for the sandal, Hermes seduced her. They had a child, [[Hermaphroditus]].<ref>Pseudo-Hyginus, Astronomica 2. 16</ref>
*Daeira, an Oceanid and an underworld goddess, mated with Hermes and gave birth to a son named Eleusis.<ref>Pausanias, Description of Greece [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160%3Abook%3D1%3Achapter%3D38%3Asection%3D7 1.38.7].</ref>
*[[Apemosyne]], a princess of Crete, was travelling to Rhodes one day with her brother Althaemenes. Hermes saw her and fell in love with her, but Apemosyne fled from him. Hermes could not catch her because she ran faster than him. The god then devised a plan and laid some freshly skinned hides across her path. Later, on her way back from a spring, Apemosyne slipped on those hides and fell. At that moment, Hermes caught her and raped her. When Apemosyne told her brother what had happened, he became angry, thinking that she was lying about being molested by the god. In his anger, he kicked her to death.<ref>Apollodorus, Bibliotheca 3. 2</ref>
*[[Chione (daughter of Daedalion)|Chione]], a princess of Phokis, attracted the attention of Hermes. He used his wand to put her to sleep and slept with her. To Hermes she bore a son, [[Autolycus]].<ref>Ovid, Metamorphoses 11. 301; Pausanias, Description of Greece 4. 8. 6</ref>
*[[Herse of Athens|Herse]], an Athenian princess, was loved by Hermes and bore a son named Cephalus to him. 
*[[Iphthime]], a princess of Doros, was loved by Hermes. They had three Satyroi – named Pherespondos, Lykos and Pronomos.
*Penelopeia, an Arcadian nymph, was loved by Hermes. It is said that Hermes had sex with her in the form of a goat, which resulted in their son, the god [[Pan (god)|Pan]], having goat legs.<ref>Lucian, ''Dialogues of the Gods'' 2</ref> She has been confused or conflated with [[Penelope]], the wife of [[Odysseus]].
*The [[Oread]]s, the nymphs of the mountains were said to mate with Hermes in the highlands, breeding more of their kind.<ref>Homeric Hymn 5 to Aphrodite 256</ref>
*[[Tanagra (mythology)|Tanagra]] was a nymph for whom the gods [[Ares]] and Hermes competed in a boxing match. Hermes won and carried her off to Tanagra in Boeotia.

According to Hyginus's ''[[Fabulae|Fabula]]'', [[Pan (mythology)|Pan]], the Greek god of nature, shepherds and flocks, is the son of Hermes through the nymph [[Dryope]].<ref>Hyginus, ''[[Fabulae|Fabula]]'' 160, makes Hermes the father of Pan.</ref> It is likely that the worship of Hermes himself actually originated as an aspect of Pan as the god of boundaries, which could explain their association as parent and child in Hyginus. In other sources, the god [[Priapus]] is understood as a son of Hermes.<ref>[[Karl Kerényi]], ''Gods of the Greeks'', 1951, p. 175, citing G. Kaibel, ''Epigrammata graeca ex lapidibus collecta'', 817, where the other god's name, both father and son of Hermes, is obscured; according to other sources, Priapus was a son of Dionysus and Aphrodite.</ref>

According to the mythographer [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [[Autolycus]], the Prince of Thieves, was a son of Hermes and [[Chione (daughter of Daedalion)|Chione]], making Hermes a great-grandfather of [[Odysseus]].<ref>''[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]]'' [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg001.perseus-eng1:1.9.16 1.9.16].</ref>

[[File:Hermes warrior Louvre G515.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Hermes and a young warrior. Bendis Painter, c. 370 BC.]]
Once, Hermes chased either [[Persephone]] or [[Hecate]] with the aim to rape her; but the goddess snored or roared in anger, frightening him off so that he desisted, hence her earning the name "[[Brimo]]" ("angry").<ref>[[John Tzetzes|Tzetzes]] ad [[Lycophron]], [https://topostext.org/work/860#1176 1176] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240226075020/https://topostext.org/work/860#1176 |date=26 February 2024 }} [https://books.google.com/books?id=DDxEAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA29 (Gk text)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230210100802/https://books.google.com/books?id=DDxEAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA29 |date=10 February 2023 }}; Heslin, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=WhJbDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA39 39] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230210100802/https://books.google.com/books?id=WhJbDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA39 |date=10 February 2023 }}</ref>{{AI-generated source|date=November 2024}}

Hermes also loved young men in [[Pederasty in ancient Greece|pederastic relationships]] where he bestowed or taught something related to combat, athletics, herding, poetry and music. [[Photius]] wrote that [[Castor and Pollux|Polydeuces (Pollux)]], one of the Dioscuri, was a lover of Hermes, to whom he gifted the Thessalian horse Dotor.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://topostext.org/work/237#190.50 |title=Photius, Bibliotheca excerpts, 190.50 |access-date=11 April 2020 |archive-date=21 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210121002207/https://topostext.org/work/237#190.50 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://remacle.org/bloodwolf/erudits/photius/ptolemee.htm |title=Photius, Bibliotheca excerpts - GR |access-date=11 April 2020 |archive-date=4 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210204223756/http://remacle.org/bloodwolf/erudits/photius/ptolemee.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Amphion and Zethus|Amphion]] became a great singer and musician after his lover Hermes taught him to play and gave him a golden lyre.<ref>Philostratus the Elder, ''Imagines'' 1. 10</ref> [[Crocus (mythology)|Crocus]] was said to be a beloved of Hermes and was accidentally killed by the god in a game of [[discus]] when he unexpectedly stood up; as the unfortunate youth's blood dripped on the soil, the [[saffron]] flower came to be.{{sfn|Miller|Strauss Clay|2019|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=UviFDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA133 133]}} [[Perseus]] received the divine items ([[talaria]], [[petasos]], and the [[Cap of invisibility|helm of darkness]]) from Hermes because he loved him.<ref>Pseudo-Hyginus, ''[[De astronomia]]'' [https://topostext.org/work/207#2.12.1 2.12] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210815135348/https://topostext.org/work/207#2.12.1 |date=15 August 2021 }}.</ref> And [[Daphnis]], a Sicilian shepherd who was said to be the inventor of [[Pastoral#Pastoral poetry|pastoral poetry]], is said to be a son or sometimes ''[[eromenos]]'' of Hermes.<ref>[[Claudius Aelianus|Aelian]], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2008.01.0591%3Abook%3D10%3Achapter%3D18 ''Varia Historia'' 10.18] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220920163414/https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:2008.01.0591:book%3D10:chapter%3D18 |date=20 September 2022 }}</ref>

====List of offspring====
The following is a list of Hermes's offspring, by various mothers. Beside each offspring, the earliest source to record the parentage is given, along with the century to which the source (in some cases approximately) dates.
<div style=display:inline-table>
{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
! scope="col" style="width: 95pt;" |Offspring
! scope="col" style="width: 105pt;" |Mother
! scope="col" style="width: 60pt;" |Source
! scope="col" style="width: 70pt;" |Date
! class="unsortable" scope="col" style="width: 10pt;" |
|-
|[[Cydon]]
|[[Acacallis (mythology)|Acacallis]]
|[[Pausanias (geographer)|Paus.]]
|data-sort-value=19|2nd cent. AD
|<ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], ''[[Description of Greece]]'', [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160%3Abook%3D8%3Achapter%3D53%3Asection%3D4 8.53.4]; Tripp, s.v. Acacallis.</ref>
|-
|rowspan="3"|[[Ceryx]]
|[[Aglaurus]]
|[[Pausanias (geographer)|Paus.]]
|data-sort-value=19|2nd cent. AD
|<ref>''Brill's New Pauly'', s.v. Aglaurus; [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], ''[[Description of Greece]]'' [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0525.tlg001.perseus-eng1:1.38.3 1.38.3].</ref>
|-
|[[Herse]]
|
|data-sort-value=50|
|<ref>''Brill's New Pauly'', s.v. Herse.</ref>
|-
|[[Pandrosus]]
|
|data-sort-value=50|
|
|-
|[[Bounos]]
|[[Alcidamea|Alcidameia]]
|[[Pausanias (geographer)|Paus.]]
|data-sort-value=19|2nd cent. AD
|<ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160%3Abook%3D2%3Achapter%3D3%3Asection%3D10 2.3.10].</ref>
|-
|rowspan="2"|[[Echion]]
|[[Antianeira (daughter of Menelaus)|Antianeira]]
|
|data-sort-value=50|
|<ref>''Brill's New Pauly'', s.v. Echion (2).</ref>
|-
|[[Laothoe]]
|''[[Orphic Argonautica|Orph. Arg.]]''
|data-sort-value=23|4th cent. AD
|<ref>Smith, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0104:entry=echion-bio-2 s.v. Echion (2)]; ''[[Orphic Argonautica]]'' 132&ndash;6 (Vian, p. 83).</ref>
|-
|[[Eurytus]]
|[[Antianeira (daughter of Menelaus)|Antianeira]]
|
|data-sort-value=50|
|<ref>Smith, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0104:entry=eurytus-bio-3 s.v. Eurytus (3)].</ref>
|-
|[[Hermaphroditus]]
|[[Aphrodite]]
|[[Diodorus Siculus|Diod. Sic.]]
|data-sort-value=15|1st cent. BC
|<ref>Gantz, p. 104; [[Diodorus Siculus]], [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Diodorus_Siculus/4A*.html#6.5 4.6.5].</ref>
|-
|[[Astacus (mythology)|Astacus]]
|[[Astabe]]
|
|data-sort-value=50|
|
|-
|rowspan="4"|[[Autolycus]]
|[[Philonis]]
|[[Hesiod|Hes.]] ''[[Catalogue of Women|Cat.]]''
|data-sort-value=5|6th cent. BC
|<ref>Gantz, p. 109; [[Hesiod]], ''[[Catalogue of Women]]'' [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/hesiod-catalogue_women/2018/pb_LCL503.141.xml fr. 65 (Most, pp. 138&ndash;41)]; ''[[Brill's New Jacoby|BNJ]]'' [https://scholarlyeditions-brill-com.wikipedialibrary.idm.oclc.org/reader/urn:cts:greekLit:fgrh.0003.bnjo-3-tr1-eng:f120 3 F120] [= Scholia on [[Homer]]'s ''[[Odyssey]]'', 19.432].</ref>
|-
|[[Chione (daughter of Daedalion)|Chione]]
|Hyg. ''[[Fabulae|Fab.]]''
|data-sort-value=17|1st cent. AD
|<ref>Hyginus, ''[[Fabulae]]'' [https://topostext.org/work/201 201].</ref>
|-
|[[Stilbe]]
|Schol. ''[[Iliad|Il.]]''
|data-sort-value=50|
|<ref>''[[Pauly-Wissowa|RE]]'', [https://elexikon.ch/RE/IIIA,2_2521.png s.v. Stilbe (2)]; Scholia on [[Homer]], ''[[Iliad]]'', 10.266.</ref>
|-
|[[Telauge]]
|[[Eustathius of Thessalonica|Eustathius]]
|data-sort-value=39|12th cent. AD
|<ref>''[[Pauly-Wissowa|RE]]'', [https://elexikon.ch/RE/IIIA,2_2521.png s.v. Stilbe (2)].</ref>
|-
|rowspan="6"|[[Myrtilus]]
|[[Cleobule]]
|
|data-sort-value=50|
|
|-
|[[Clymene (mythology)|Clymene]]
|[[Pherecydes of Athens|Pherecydes]]
|data-sort-value=7|5th cent. BC
|<ref>''[[Brill's New Jacoby|BNJ]]'' 3 F37a [= Scholia on [[Apollonius of Rhodes]], 1.752-8a].</ref>
|-
|[[Clytie]]
|Hyg. ''[[De astronomia|De astr.]]''
|data-sort-value=16|1st cent. BC/AD
|<ref>Hyginus, ''[[De astronomia]]'' [https://topostext.org/work/207#2.13.4 2.13.4].</ref>
|-
|[[Myrto (Amazon)|Myrto]]
|[[Pherecydes of Athens|Pherecydes]]
|data-sort-value=7|5th cent. BC
|<ref name="ReferenceE">''Brill's New Pauly'', s.v. Myrtilus (1); ''[[Brill's New Jacoby|BNJ]]'' 3 F37a [= Scholia on [[Apollonius of Rhodes]], 1.752-8a].</ref>
|-
|[[Danaïdes|Phaethusa]]
|[[Pherecydes of Athens|Pherecydes]]
|data-sort-value=7|5th cent. BC
|<ref name="ReferenceE"/>
|-
|[[Theobule]]
|Hyg. ''[[Fabulae|Fab.]]''
|data-sort-value=17|1st cent. AD
|<ref>''Brill's New Pauly'', s.v. Myrtilus (1); Hyginus, ''[[Fabulae]]'' [https://topostext.org/work/206#224 224].</ref>
|-
|[[Polybus of Sicyon|Polybus]]
|[[Chthonophyle]]
|[[Pausanias (geographer)|Paus.]]
|data-sort-value=19|2nd cent. AD
|<ref>''Brill's New Pauly'', s.v. Polybus (3); [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0525.tlg001.perseus-eng1:2.6.6 2.6.6].</ref>
|-
|[[Eleusis (mythology)|Eleusis]]
|[[List of Oceanids|Daeira]]
|[[Pausanias (geographer)|Paus.]]
|data-sort-value=19|2nd cent. AD
|<ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160%3Abook%3D1%3Achapter%3D38%3Asection%3D7 1.38.7].</ref>
|-
|rowspan="2"|[[Pan (god)|Pan]]
|Daughter of [[Dryope]]
|''[[Homeric Hymn|HH]]'' 19
|data-sort-value=50|
|<ref>Gantz, p. 110; ''[[Homeric Hymn]] to Pan'' (19), [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0013.tlg019.perseus-eng1:1 34&ndash;9].</ref>
|-
|[[Penelope (mother of Pan)|Penelope]]
|[[Herodotus|Hdt.]]
|data-sort-value=7|5th cent. BC
|<ref>Hard, [https://books.google.com/books?id=r1Y3xZWVlnIC&pg=PA215 p. 215&ndash;6]; [[Herodotus]], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.perseus-eng1:2.145 2.145].</ref>
|-
|[[Norax]]
|[[Erytheia (mythology)|Erytheia]]
|[[Pausanias (geographer)|Paus.]]
|data-sort-value=19|2nd cent. AD
|<ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.+10.17.5 10.17.5]</ref>
|-
|[[Aethalides]]
|[[Eupolemeia]]
|Hyg. ''[[Fabulae|Fab.]]''
|data-sort-value=17|1st cent. AD
|<ref>Smith, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0104:entry=aethalides-bio-1 s.v. Aethalides]; Hyginus, ''[[Fabulae]]'' [https://topostext.org/work/206#14 14].</ref>
|-
|The [[Cephalonia]]ns
|[[Calypso (mythology)|Calypso]]
|[[Hesiod|Hes.]] ''[[Catalogue of Women|Cat.]]''
|data-sort-value=5|6th cent. BC
|<ref>[[Hesiod]], ''[[Catalogue of Women]]'' [https://books.google.com/books?id=CgGbIKguHwsC&pg=PA173 fr. 98 Most (pp. 172, 173)] [= fr. 150 Merkelbach-West].</ref>
|-
|[[Daphnis]]
|Unnamed nymph
|[[Diodorus Siculus|Diod. Sic.]]
|data-sort-value=15|1st cent. BC
|<ref>Hard, p. 211; [[Diodorus Siculus]], [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Diodorus_Siculus/4D*.html#84.2 4.84.2].</ref>
|-
|[[Cephalus of Athens|Cephalus]]
|[[Herse]]
|[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollod.]]
|data-sort-value=18|1st/2nd cent. AD
|<ref>''Brill's New Pauly'', s.v. Herse; [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg001.perseus-eng1:3.14.3 3.14.3].</ref>
|-
|[[Gigas (Greek myth)|Gigas]]
|[[Hiereia]]
|[[Tzetzes]]
|data-sort-value=39|12th cent. AD
|<ref>''[[Pauly-Wissowa|RE]]'', [https://de.wikisource.org/wiki/RE:Gigas s.v. Gigas]; [[Tzetzes]] on [[Lycophron]], 42.</ref>
|-
|[[Evander of Pallene|Evander]]
|Themis
|[[Dionysius of Halicarnassus|Dion. Hal.]]
|data-sort-value=15|1st cent. BC
|<ref>[[Dionysius of Halicarnassus]], ''Roman Antiquities'', [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Dionysius_of_Halicarnassus/1B*.html#13.1 1.13.1], [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Dionysius_of_Halicarnassus/2A*.html#1.3 2.3.1].</ref>
|-
|[[Prylis (mythology)|Prylis]]
|[[Issa (mythology)|Issa]]
|Schol. [[Lycophron|Lyc.]]
|data-sort-value=50|
|<ref>''Brill's New Pauly'', s.v. Prylis (1); Scholia on [[Lycophron]]'s ''Alexandra'', 219&ndash;21.</ref>
|-
|[[Lycus (mythology)|Lycus]], [[Pherespondus]], [[Pronomus]]
|[[Iphthime]]
|[[Nonnus]]
|data-sort-value=7|5th cent. AD
|<ref>Allan, p. 28.</ref>
|-
|[[Libys (mythology)|Libys]]
|[[Libya (mythology)|Libye]]
|Hyg. ''[[Fabulae|Fab.]]''
|data-sort-value=17|1st cent. AD
|<ref>Hyginus, ''[[Fabulae]]'', [https://topostext.org/work/206#160 160].</ref>
|-
|[[Bakırçay|Caicus]]
|[[Ocyrhoe]]
|[[Pseudo-Plutarch|Ps.-Plut.]] ''[[De fluviis|Fluv.]]''
|data-sort-value=19|2nd cent. AD
|<ref>Smith, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0104:entry=caicus-bio-1 s.v. Caicus]; [[Pseudo-Plutarch]], ''[[De fluviis]]'' [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2008.01.0400%3Achapter%3D21 21.1].</ref>
|-
|[[Agreus|Nomios]]
|[[Penelope (dryad)]]
|
|data-sort-value=50|
|
|-
|[[Pharis (mythology)|Pharis]]
|[[Phylodameia]]
|[[Pausanias (geographer)|Paus.]]
|data-sort-value=19|2nd cent. AD
|<ref>Smith, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0104:entry=pharis-bio-1 s.v. Pharis (1)]; [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0525.tlg001.perseus-eng1:4.30.2 4.30.2].</ref>
|-
|[[Eudoros]]
|[[Polymele]]
|[[Homer|Hom.]] ''[[Iliad|Il.]]''
|data-sort-value=1|8th cent. BC
|<ref>Gantz, p. 107; [[Homer]], ''[[Iliad]]'' [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0134%3Abook%3D16%3Acard%3D155 16.179&ndash;186].</ref>
|-
|[[Saon (mythology)|Saon]]
|[[Rhene (mythology)|Rhene]]
|[[Diodorus Siculus|Diod. Sic.]]
|data-sort-value=15|1st cent. BC
|<ref>[[Diodorus Siculus]], ''Library of History'' 5.48.2.</ref>
|-
|[[Linus (mythology)|Linus]]
|[[Urania]]
|''[[Suda]]''
|data-sort-value=35|10th cent. AD
|<ref>''[[Suda]]'' [https://www.cs.uky.edu/~raphael/sol/sol-entries/lambda/568 λ 568].</ref>
|-
|[[Agreus]]
|[[Sose (mythology)|Sose]]
|
|data-sort-value=50|
|
|-
|[[Abderus]]
|Unnamed mortal woman
|[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollod.]]
|data-sort-value=18|1st/2nd cent. AD
|<ref>[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg001.perseus-eng1:2.5.8 2.5.8].</ref>
|-
|Arabus
|[[Thronia]]
|[[Hesiod|Hes.]] ''[[Catalogue of Women|Cat.]]''
|data-sort-value=5|6th cent. BC
|<ref>Parada, s.v. Arabus, p. 24; [[Hesiod]], ''[[Catalogue of Women]]'' [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/hesiod-catalogue_women/2018/pb_LCL503.173.xml fr. 88 Most (pp. 172, 173)] [= [[Strabo]], ''Geographica'' [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Strabo/1B2*.html#ref105 1.2.34]].</ref>
|-
|[[Dolops]]
|rowspan="5"|''No mother mentioned''
|
|data-sort-value=50|
|<ref>Smith, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0104:entry=dolops-bio-1 s.v. Dolops].</ref>
|-
|[[Eurymachus]]
|Schol. ''[[Iliad|Il.]]''
|data-sort-value=50|
|<ref>''[[Pauly-Wissowa|RE]]'', [https://de.wikisource.org/wiki/RE:Eurymachos_1 s.v. Eurymachos (1)].</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last1=Köppen, Johann Heinrich Just|title=Erklärende Anmerkungen zu Homers Ilias|last2=Heinrich, Karl Friedrich|last3=Krause, Johann Christian Heinrich|year=1818|volume=2|pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=SoATAAAAQAAJ&dq=Eriboea+daughter+of+Eurymachus&pg=PA72 72]}}</ref>
|-
|[[Palaestra (mythology)#Palaestra, daughter of Hermes|Palaestra]]
|[[Philostratus the Elder|Philostr.]]
|data-sort-value=21|3rd cent. AD
|<ref>[[Philostratus the Elder]], ''[[Imagines (work by Philostratus)|Imagines]]'' [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/philostratus_elder-imagines_book_ii_32_palaestra/1931/pb_LCL256.263.xml 2.32.28&ndash;9 (pp. 262, 263)].</ref>
|-
|[[Angelia]]
|[[Pindar]]
|data-sort-value=7|5th cent. BC
|<ref>[[Pindar]], ''Olympian'' [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/pindar-olympian_odes/1997/pb_LCL056.145.xml 8.80&ndash;84].</ref>
|}
</div>

===Genealogy===
{{chart top|Hermes's family tree|collapsed=yes}}
{{chart/start}}
{{chart|}}
{{chart| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |URA |y|GAI |URA=[[Uranus (mythology)|Uranus]]|GAI=[[Gaia (mythology)|Gaia]]}}
{{chart| | | | | |,|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|^|-|-|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|.}}
{{chart|URA|F|IAP | |OCE |y|TET | | | | | | | |CRO |y|RHE |IAP=[[Iapetus (mythology)|Iapetus]]|OCE=[[Oceanus]]|TET=[[Tethys (mythology)|Tethys]]|URA=<small>Uranus'&nbsp;genitals</small>|CRO=[[Cronus]]|RHE=[[Rhea (mythology)|Rhea]]}}
{{chart| |!| |:| | | |,|-|-|-|(| | | |,|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|v|-|^|-|v|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|.}}
{{chart| |!| |L|~|y|CLY |F|PLE |F|ZEU |y|HER | |POS | |HAD | |DEM | |HES |CLY=[[Clymene (mythology)|Clymene]]<ref>According to [[Hesiod]]'s ''[[Theogony]]'' [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0020.tlg001.perseus-eng1:507-544 507–509] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210106101941/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0020.tlg001.perseus-eng1:507-544 |date=6 January 2021 }}, Atlas's mother was the [[Oceanid]] Clymene, later accounts have the Oceanid [[Asia (Oceanid)|Asia]] as his mother, see [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg001.perseus-eng1:1.2.3 1.2.3] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200914144847/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hes.+Th.+351 |date=14 September 2020 }}.</ref>|PLE=[[Pleione (mythology)|Pleione]]|HES=[[Hestia]]|DEM=[[Demeter]]|ZEU=[[Zeus]]|HER=[[Hera]]|HAD=[[Hades]]|POS=[[Poseidon]]}}
{{chart| |!| | | |!| | | |:| | | |:| |,|-|^|.| |!}}
{{chart| |!| | |ATL |y|~|J| | | |:| |!| |AAA |!|ATL=[[Atlas (mythology)|Atlas]]|AAA=a<ref>According to [[Homer]], ''[[Iliad]]'' [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0012.tlg001.perseus-eng1:1.570 1.570–579] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210502110214/http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0012.tlg001.perseus-eng1:1.570 |date=2 May 2021 }}, [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0012.tlg001.perseus-eng1:14.338 14.338], ''[[Odyssey]]'' [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0012.tlg002.perseus-eng1:8.312 8.312], Hephaestus was apparently the son of Hera and Zeus, see Gantz, p. 74.</ref>|border_AAA=0}}
{{chart|border=0| |!| | | | | |!| | | | | |:| |!| | |!|BBB |BBB=b<ref>According to [[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hes.+Th.+927 927–929] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227125027/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hes.+Th.+927 |date=27 February 2021 }}, Hephaestus was produced by Hera alone, with no father, see Gantz, p. 74.</ref>}}
{{chart| |!| | | | |MAI |~|y|~|~|C| |!| | |!| |!|MAI=[[Maia (mythology)|Maia]]}}
{{chart| |!| | | | | | | | |!| | |:|ARE | |HEP |ARE=[[Ares]]|HEP=[[Hephaestus]]}}
{{chart| |!| | | | | | | |HER | |D|~|~|~|y|~|~|~|~|MET |HER='''Hermes'''|MET=[[Metis (mythology)|Metis]]}}
{{chart| |!| | | | | | | | | | | |:| | |ATH |ATH=[[Athena]]<ref>According to [[Hesiod]]'s ''[[Theogony]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hes.+Th.+886 886–890] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160505141442/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hes.+Th.+886 |date=5 May 2016 }}, of Zeus's children by his seven wives, Athena was the first to be conceived, but the last to be born; Zeus impregnated Metis then swallowed her, later Zeus himself gave birth to Athena "from his head", see Gantz, pp. 51–52, 83–84.</ref>}}
{{chart| |!| | | | | | | | | | | |D|~|~|~|y|~|~|~|~|LET |LET=[[Leto]]}}
{{chart| |!| | | | | | | | | | | |:| |,|-|^|-|.}}
{{chart| |!| | | | | | | | | | | |:|APO | |ART |APO=[[Apollo]]|ART=[[Artemis]]}}
{{chart| |!| | | | | | | | | | | |D|~|~|~|y|~|~|~|~|SEM |SEM=[[Semele]]}}
{{chart| |!| | | | | | | | | | | |:| | |DIO |DIO=[[Dionysus]]}}
{{chart| |!| | | | | | | | | | | |L|~|~|~|~|y|~|~|~|DIO |DIO=[[Dione (Titaness)|Dione]]}}
{{chart|border=0|AAA | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |BBB|AAA=a<ref>According to [[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hes.+Th.+183 183–200] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227064102/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hes.+Th.+183 |date=27 February 2021 }}, Aphrodite was born from Uranus's severed genitals, see Gantz, pp. 99–100.</ref>|BBB=b<ref>According to [[Homer]], Aphrodite was the daughter of Zeus (''[[Iliad]]'' [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0012.tlg001.perseus-eng1:3.374 3.374], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0012.tlg001.perseus-eng1:20.105 20.105] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181102225842/http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0012.tlg001.perseus-eng1:20.105 |date=2 November 2018 }}; ''[[Odyssey]]'' [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0012.tlg002.perseus-eng1:8.308 8.308] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181102224038/http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0012.tlg002.perseus-eng1:8.308 |date=2 November 2018 }}, [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0012.tlg002.perseus-eng1:8.320 320]) and Dione (''[[Iliad]]'' [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0012.tlg001.perseus-eng1:5.370 5.370–71] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221022122342/http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0012.tlg001.perseus-eng1:3.374 |date=22 October 2022 }}), see Gantz, pp. 99–100.</ref>}}
{{chart| |`|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|.| |!}}
{{chart| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |APH |APH=[[Aphrodite]]}}
{{chart/end}}
{{chart bottom}}