Hermes
The trickster God. Messenger and guide to the Underworld for lost souls, known for his devious and manipulative nature.
One of the Olympian twelve, he is also the patron of boundaries and the travellers who cross them; of shepherds and cowherds; of thieves, orators, wit; of literature, poets, athletics; of weights and measures; of invention, commerce, and the cunning of thieves and liars.
His symbols are the tortoise, the cock, the caduceus, and winged sandals. Hermes gives us the word "hermeneutics" for the art of interpreting hidden meaning. In Greek a lucky find was a hermaion. Hermes delivered messages from Olympus to the mortal world.
Analogous Roman deity is Mercury.
Represented in this series as a Filipino, his palms—raised to halt the fight—are two fighting cocks. Below, one dog cowers as another attacks. The anger and the pain reflected in Hermes’ expression contrast the struggle between the necessity of survival and the compromises to moral characters that sometimes entails. The beauty of the beaches and Philippines' coastline (upper left corner) is in contrast to the crowded and squalid living conditions found in the Manila slums (upper right).
The trickster God. Messenger and guide to the Underworld for lost souls, known for his devious and manipulative nature.
One of the Olympian twelve, he is also the patron of boundaries and the travellers who cross them; of shepherds and cowherds; of thieves, orators, wit; of literature, poets, athletics; of weights and measures; of invention, commerce, and the cunning of thieves and liars.
His symbols are the tortoise, the cock, the caduceus, and winged sandals. Hermes gives us the word "hermeneutics" for the art of interpreting hidden meaning. In Greek a lucky find was a hermaion. Hermes delivered messages from Olympus to the mortal world.
Analogous Roman deity is Mercury.
Represented in this series as a Filipino, his palms—raised to halt the fight—are two fighting cocks. Below, one dog cowers as another attacks. The anger and the pain reflected in Hermes’ expression contrast the struggle between the necessity of survival and the compromises to moral characters that sometimes entails. The beauty of the beaches and Philippines' coastline (upper left corner) is in contrast to the crowded and squalid living conditions found in the Manila slums (upper right).
© Copyright 2016 Jeffrey A’Hearn