Unchanged by any teller — how the centuries since have seen Hermes.
The gallery
Hermes and the Infant Dionysus
Attributed to Praxiteles, c. 340 BC
A marble statue attributed to Praxiteles, discovered in 1877 in the ruins of the Temple of Hera at Olympia and now in the Archaeological Museum of Olympia. It shows Hermes pausing on his journey to deliver the infant Dionysus to the nymphs who would raise him, the god's missing right arm once dangling an object before the reaching child. The soft modelling and relaxed contrapposto have made it one of the most admired works of fourth-century BC Greek sculpture.
Flying Mercury
Giambologna, c. 1580
A bronze statue by the Mannerist sculptor Giambologna, now in the Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence. The messenger god is caught in full flight, balanced on one foot upon a breath of air issuing from the mouth of a wind god, caduceus in hand and winged sandals barely touching the earth. Its weightless poise made it one of the most influential and widely reproduced sculptures of the late Renaissance.
Hermes Ludovisi
Roman copy after a Greek original of the 5th century BC, 1st century AD (copy)
A Roman marble of Hermes Logios — the orator Hermes — in the Palazzo Altemps, Rome. The god stands with one arm raised as if mid-address, the caduceus once completing the gesture; the type descends from a Classical Greek original and became a Renaissance favourite for the messenger as eloquent guide of souls and speech.
Hermes Belvedere
Roman copy after a Greek original of the 4th century BC, 2nd century AD (copy)
A monumental marble Hermes in the Museo Pio-Clementino of the Vatican Museums, long admired beside the Apollo Belvedere. The god stands in quiet contrapposto, cloak falling from one shoulder — an Imperial Roman copy of a late Classical Greek type that fixed Hermes as the graceful, almost contemplative courier of Olympus.
Hermes Fastening his Sandal
Roman copy after Lysippos (type), Roman Imperial copy after a 4th-century BC Greek original
A marble statue in the Louvre of Hermes pausing to lace a winged sandal — the messenger caught in the ordinary instant before flight. The bent pose, credited to a Lysippan type, turns divine haste into a moment of private concentration; copies were prized across the Roman world as images of readiness and departure.
On screen
Hercules
Ron Clements & John Musker
Disney's winged messenger is all sunglasses and rapid-fire delivery — Hermes as celestial courier and comic MC, complete with the gospel Muses on call.
The Odyssey
Andrei Konchalovsky
Konchalovsky's miniseries keeps Hermes in his Homeric office: the god who brings moly to Odysseus on Circe's island and clears the path home.
Jason and the Argonauts
Don Chaffey
Harryhausen's adventure puts Hermes among the Olympians watching Jason's voyage — the messenger at the edge of the divine board.
Troy: Fall of a City
Owen Harris
The BBC/Netflix Trojan cycle keeps Hermes in the Olympian traffic of messages and bargains — the courier god at the edge of a war the gods themselves stage.
Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief
Chris Columbus
Hermes appears as the winged messenger among the gods Percy must face — the courier of Olympus translated into Hollywood demigod adventure.
In music & on stage
The Planets — Mercury, the Winged Messenger
Gustav Holst
Holst's scherzo names the planet for the winged courier — Hermes as fleet, glittering motion in the middle of the suite.
Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria
Claudio Monteverdi
Monteverdi's late Venetian opera gives Mercury the job Homer gave him: urging Calypso to release Odysseus and clearing the hero's road home.
EPIC: The Musical
Jorge Rivera-Herrans
Rivera-Herrans' Odyssey album casts Hermes as the slick divine helper — the messenger who arms Odysseus with moly and attitude on Circe's island.
In play
Hades
Supergiant Games
Hermes' boons are all dash and haste — the fleet-footed god as the run's tempo, chattering from the surface while Zagreus sprints.
Hades II
Supergiant Games
He remains the Olympian of speed in the sequel, now pacing Melinoë's hunt with the same restless wit.
Hermès
Thierry Hermès
The Paris luxury house takes its name and caduceus from the messenger god — Hermes as trademark of craft, travel and speed for nearly two centuries.
Percy Jackson & the Olympians
Rick Riordan
Riordan's Hermes is the tired god of thieves and delivery — father of Luke Castellan, and the Olympian whose broken family drives half the series' betrayal.