Hermes

Hermes

Ερμής

Mercury the Oratore

Homeric Hymn 4 to Hermes 528 ff (trans. Evelyn-White) (Greek epic C7th to 4th B.C.)

“Apollon sware also [to Hermes] : ‘Verily I will make you only to be an omen for the immortals and all alike, trusted and honoured by my heart. Moreover, I will give you a splendid staff of riches and wealth: it is of gold, with three branches, and will keep you scatheless, accomplishing every task, whether of words or deeds that are good, which I claim to know through the utterance of Zeus.’”

Roman

Rome National Museum