Page 51 - Kallima Spiritual Centre - Newsletter - June-July 2021

Hermes
Son of Zeus and god of travel, hospitality and trade, Hermes was also his father’s personal messenger and a guide to the dead. He was also ‘the divine trickster’, known for his fun and mischievous
ways and considered the inventor of the lyre, playing dice and the alphabet.
Additional to that, as the god of travel, he presided over boundaries and the transgression of such boundaries, therefore looking out for herdsmen, thieves and messengers.
The image of Hermes is varied according to Greek art and culture. In the earliest part of the ancient era, he was depicted as a mature, bearded man, though this changed in the Classical or Hellenistic period. He is often depicted as young, athletic and often nude.
However, even while his appearance changed, perhaps he is best recognized as a god clad in winged hat and sandels and carrying a herald’s staff.
Hestia
The goddess of architecture, family, and home and hearth. She was the first child of Cronus and Rhea and known for her warmth, generosity and kindness. Hestia’s primary
role was making and tending the fire of the home. As fire itself was an essential element in keeping a household warm and fed in ancient Greek culture, Hestia was much revered as a Goddess. In the homes of the day, every meal started and ended with an offering made to Hestia.
However, the fact that she had to stay at home meant that she did not feature in many myths. This was possibly why it was she who was replaced in the panteon when the much wilder Dionysus was born.
A dedicated virgin, Hestia is usually depicted with her head veiled and holding a branch of the Chaste tree and a kettle.
Interpretating the Actions of the Olympians
You may wonder at the Olympians rolls as gods and goddesses. Mothers casting out their children, siblings tricking and fighting each other, and all of them seemingly unfaithful to those they professed to love or were married to. For example, Zeus had affairs with countless females, divine and mortal, and as a result, is thought to have fathered at least 50 (illegimate) children.
This may not seem to be appropriate behaviour of the supreme god over all the Olympian deities. However, it is important to remember that the gods of ancient Greece were never assumed to be either moral or particularly benevolent. They were viewed as stronger, supreme beings, with the same failings and desired that humans had. Thus, the fact that Hera could revile her own child, Hephaistos, or that the deities cheated on those they chose earlier to wed, reflected the many feelings and behaviours of the world they governed.
Additionally, there is a further interpretation of Zeus’s hectic urge to procreate, and indeed, it is a theme that comes up again and again through the ongoing infidelities of numerous deities – the fact that the ability to reproduce was highly valued in a time where a continuous source of soldiers was essential. That Zeus was capable of fathering a veritable platoon of warriors proved that he was the greatest of all deities and thus worthy of his role
as god of gods.
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