A Proposal upon the Figure of Hermes as an Ancient God of Fire (According to the Homeric Hymn to Hermes)

Abstract

The origin and meaning of Hermes, whose figure is full of different and even contradictory aspects, has never been clarified. Now, starting from a passage from the Homeric Hymn dedicated to him – in which Hermes is considered the one “who first invented fire-sticks and fire” – as well as on the fact that he is often associated with Hestia, the goddess of the hearth, we propose here that he was originally a god of fire. This immediately explains his attributions, the meaning of his name and even the shape of the caduceus. Moreover, the Hermes-Hestia couple corresponds to the conception of the two fires in the Vedic world: one is the quadrangular “male fire” of the sky, while the other is the round “female fire” of the earth. This original dimension of Hermes as a god of fire also links him to lightning, that produces forest fires and is considered a divine omen, which explains his function as the messenger of the gods. At this point, it is even possible to identify the original counterpart of Hermes in the Roman world: he was not Mercury, but the ancient god Terminus, whose original dimension linked to fire gradually faded over the centuries, as it happened also for Hermes. Keywords: Hermes, Hestia, Homeric Hymns, Terminus