HERMES FAMILY
Greek Name
Ἑρμης
Transliteration
Hermês
Latin Spelling
Hermes
Translation
Mercury
HERMES was the Olympian god of herds, trade, heralds, athletes and thieves.
This page outlines the divine and mortal children fathered by Hermes. Most of these were only connected to the god with the briefest of genealogical references and were often assigned his paternity to emphasize their roles as messengers and swift runners in myth. A few were the founders of noble houses, such as Kerys--ancestor of the Athenian family which held the position of herald in the Eleusinian mysteries.
(1) DIVINE OFFSPRING
ANGELIA The goddess of messages was a daughter of Hermes.
ELEUSIS The goddess of the Eleusinian Mysteries. She was a daughter of Hermes and Daeira.
HERMAPHRODITOS (Hermaphroditus) The hermaphroditic daimon, a son of Hermes and Aphrodite. His form was merged with that of the Naiad Salmakis to form a creature that was half male and half female.
OREIADES (Oreads) Many of the Oreiades were said to be the daughters of Hermes and other Oreaides Nymphai.
PALAISTRA (Palaestra) The goddess of wrestling was a daughter of the athlete's god.
PAN The goat-footed god of shepherds was a son of Hermes and the Nymphe Penelopeia.
PANES Two of the goat-footed Panes were sons of Hermes - Agreus whose mother was the Nymphe Sose and Nomios whose mother was the Nymphe Penelopeia.
PRIAPOS (Priapus) The god of garden fertility was called the son of Hermes by one author (most sources, however, say this god was the son of Dionysos and Aphrodite).
SATYROI (Satyrs) The three Satyroi messengers of the god Dionysos were sons of Hermes and the Nymphe Iphthime. They were named Pherespondos, Lykos and Pronomos.
(2) MORTAL OFFSPRING
ABDEROS (Abderus) A prince of Opous in Lokris (central Greece) who was loved by Herakles. He was a son of Hermes.
AITHALIDES (Aethalides) A lord of Phthiotis (in northern Greece) who joined the expedition of the Argonauts. He was a son of Hermes and Eupolemeia.
ARABOS (Arabus) The first king of Arabia (in West Asia). He was a son of Hermes and Thronia.
AUTOLYKOS (Autolycus) A thievish prince of Phokis (in central Greece), the son of Hermes and Khione.
BOUNOS (Bunus) A king of Korinthos (in southern Greece), and son of Hermes and Alkidameia.
DAPHNIS A bard of Sikelia (Sicily) who invented pastoral or bucolic poetry. He was the son of Hermes and a Sikelian Nymphe.
EKHION (Echion) A lord of Alope in Malis (northern Greece) who joined the expedition of the Argonauts. He was a son of Hermes and Antianeira.
ELEUSIS A king and eponym of the town of Eleusis (in Attika, southern Greece). He was a son of Hermes and Daeira (according to others, he was a she, a minor goddess of Eleusinian Mysteries].
EUANDROS (Evander) A man of Arkadia (in southern Greece) who emigrated to Latium (in Italia) and founded the city of Pallantium. He was a son of Hermes and the Naiad Karmentis.
EUDOROS (Eudorus) A lord of Phthiotis (in northern Greece) who commanded a troop of Myrmidones in the Trojan War. He was a son of Hermes and Polymele.
EURESTOS (Eurestus) A son of Hermes and Aptale.
EURYTOS (Eurytus) A lord of Alope in Malis (northern Greece) who joined the expedition of the Argonauts. He was a son of Hermes and Antianeira.
KAIKOS (Caecus) A lord of Teuthrania (in Asia Minor) after whom the main river of the kingdom was named. He was a son of Hermes and the Naias Nymphe Okyrrhoe.
KEPHALOS (Cephalus) A lord and hunter of Attika (in southern Greece). He was a son of Hermes and Herse (aka Kreusa).
KERYX (Ceryx) A lord of Attika (in southern Greece) who supported the Eleusinians in their war with Athens. He was a son of Hermes and Agraulos (or, according to others, of the Thrakian King Eumolpos), and the first Herald of the Eleusinian Mysteries.
KYDON (Cydon) A lord of Kydonia in Krete (in the Greek Aegean), a son of Hermes and the Kretan princess Akalle.
LIBYS A king of Libya (in North Africa), son of Hermes and the (Argive?) princess Libya.
MYRTILOS (Myrtilus) The herald and charioteer of King Oinomaos of Pisa (in Elis, southern Greece). He was a son of Hermes and Theoboula.
NORAX A prince of Iberia (in Spain) who led his people to colonise the island of Sardinia (near Italy). He was a son of Hermes and Erytheia.
ORION A giant who was born in answer to the prayers of the childless Boiotian (of central Greece) King Hyrieus. He was conceived by three gods--Hermes, Poseidon and Zeus--who urinated upon a bull's hide and buried it in the earth, to grow an earth-born infant.
PHARIS A lord who founded the city of Pharai in Messenia (in southern Greece). He was a son of Hermes and the Danaid Phylodameia.
PHAUNOS (Phaunus) A barbaric Italian king who sacrificed strangers to his father Hermes. He was slain by Herakles.
POLYBOS (Polybus) A king of Sikyonia (in southern Greece). He was the son of Hermes and Queen Khthonophyle.
SAON The first king of the island of Samothrake (in the Greek Aegean). According to some he was a son of Hermes and the Nymphe Rhene (others say he was parented by Zeus and a Nymphe).
GENEALOGICAL LISTING
OFFSPRING IMMORTAL
[1.1] PAN (by daughter of Dryopos) (Homeric Hymn 19 to Pan)
[1.2] PAN (by Thymbris) (Apollodorus 1.22, Scholiast ad Theocritus 1.123, Herodotus 2.145, Servius ad Aeneid 2.43)
[1.3] PAN (by Penelopeia) (Herodotus 2.153.1, Apollodorus E7.38, Hyginus Fabulae 224)
[1.4] PAN (Plato Cratylus 408b, Pliny Natural History 7.204)
[1.4] PAN (by Kallisto) (Scholiast ad Theocritus 1.3)
[1.5] PAN (by Orneios) (Scholiast ad Theocritus 1.3)
[2.1] PAN-AGREUS (by Sose) (Nonnus Dionysiaca 14.67)
[3.1] PAN-NOMIOS (by Penelopeia) (Nonnus Dionysiaca 14.67)
[4.1] HERMAPHRODITOS (by Aphrodite) (Diodorus Siculus 4.6.5, Hyginus Fabulae 271, Ovid Metamorphoses 4.288, Cicero De Natura Deor. 3.21)
[5.1] PRIAPOS (Hyginus Fabulae 160)
[6.1] LYKOS, PHERESPONDOS, PRONOMOS (by Iphthime) (Nonnus Dionysiaca 14.105)
[7.1] ELEUSIS (by Daeira) (Pausanias 1.38.7)
[7.2] ELEUSIS (Suidas 'Eleusinia')
[8.1] ANGELIA (Pindar OIympian 8)
[9.1] PALAISTRA (Philostratus Elder 2.32)
OFFSPRING MORTAL
KINGDOM OF ATTIKA (Southern Greece)
[1.1] KERYX (by Aglauros) (Pausanias 1.38.3)
[2.1] KEPHALOS (by Herse) (Apollodorus 3.181)
[2.2] KEPHALOS (by Kreousa) (Hyginus Fabulae 160 & 241)
[3.1] ELEUSIS (by Daeira) (Pausanias 1.38.7)
[3.2] ELEUSINOS (Hyginus Fabulae 275)
KINGDOM OF KORINTHOS (Southern Greece)
[1.1] BOUNOS (by Alkidameia) (Pausanias 2.3.10)
KINGDOM OF SIKYONIA (Southern Greece)
[1.1] POLYBOS (by Khthonophyle) (Pausanias 2.6.6)
KINGDOM OF MESSENIA (Southern Greece)
[1.1] PHARIS (by Phylodameia) (Pausanias 4.30.2)
KINGDOM OF ELIS (Southern Greece)
[1.1] MYRTILOS (Pausanias 8.14.10)
[1.2] MYRTILOS (by Theoboule) (Hyginus Fabulae 224)
[1.3] MYRTILOS (by Klytie) (Hyginus Astronomica 2.13)
KINGDOM OF ARKADIA (Southern Greece)
[1.1] EUANDROS (by a Nymphe) (Pausanias 8.43.2)
[1.2] EUANDROS (by Karmentis)
KINGDOM OF BOIOTIA (Central Greece)
[1.1] ORION (urination along with the gods Poseidon and Zeus) (Hyginus Fab. 195 & Astr. 2.34, Ovid Fasti 5.493, Nonnus Dionysiaca 13.96)
KINGDOM OF PHOKIS (Central Greece)
[1.1] AUTOLYKOS (Apollodorus 1.112, Pausanias 8.4.6, Metamorphoses 13.146)
[1.2] AUTOLYKOS (by Khione or Philonis) (Hyginus Fabulae 200)
[1.3] AUTOLYKOS (by Khione) (Ovid Metamorphoses 11.291)
KINGDOM OF LOKRIS (Central Greece)
[1.1] ABDEROS (Apollodorus 2.97)
KINGDOM OF MALIS (Northern Greece)
[1.1] EURYTOS (Apollodorus 1.112)
[1.2] EURYTOS, EKHION (by Antianeira) (Apollonius Rhodius Argonautica 1.51, Hyginus Fabulae 14 & 160)
KINGDOM OF PHTHIOTIS (Northern Greece)
[1.1] AITHALIDES (by Eupolemeia) (Apollonius Rhodius Argonautica 1.51, Hyginus Fabulae 14)
[1.2] EUDOROS (by Polymele) (Homer Iliad 16.179)
KINGDOM OF SAMOTHRAKE (Greek Aegean)
[1.1] SAON (by Rhene) (Diodorus Siculus 5.48.1)
KINGDOM OF KRETE (Greek Aegean)
[1.1] KYDON (by Akalle) (Pausanias 8.53.4)
KINGDOM OF TEUTHRANIA (Anatolia)
[1.1] KAIKOS (by Okyrrhoe) (Pseudo-Plutarch On Rivers 21)
KINGDOM OF LATION (Central Italia)
[1.1] PHAUNOS
KINGDOMS OF SIKELIA (Southern Italia)
[1.1] DAPNHIS (Timaeus Sicelica Frag, Parthenius Love Romances 29)
[1.2] DAPHNIS (by a Nymphe) (Aelian Miscellany 10.18)
KINGDOM OF SARDINIA (Near Italia)
[1.1] NORAX (by Erytheia) (Pausanias 10.17.5)
KINGDOM OF ARABIA (West Asia)
[1.1] ARABOS (by Thronia) (Hesiod Catalogues of Women Frag 15, Strabo 14.1.42)
KINGDOM OF LIBYA (North Africa)
[1.1] LIBYS (by Libya) (Hyginus Fabulae 160)
UNKNOWN LOCATION
[1.1] EURESTOS (by Aptale) (Hyginus Fabulae 160)
CLASSICAL LITERATURE QUOTES
GENERAL LIST OF SONS
Pseudo-Hyginus, Fabulae 160 (trans. Grant) (Roman mythographer C2nd A.D.) :
"Sons of Mercurius [Hermes]. Priapus. Echion by Antianira, and Eurytus. Cephalus by Creusa, daughter of Erechtheus. Eurestus Aptale. Libys by Libye, daughter of Palamedes."
FAMILY NON-SPECIFIC LOCALE
FATHERED : 1. Angelia, goddess of messages.
Pindar, Olympian Ode 8 ep4 (trans. Conway) (Greek lyric C5th B.C.) :
"Hermes' daughter, the maid Angelia (Message)."
For MORE information on the messenger-spirit see ANGELIA
FAMILY IN ATTICA (SOUTHERN GREECE)
LOVED : 1. Herse, princess of Athens; 2. Agraulos, princess of Athens; 3. Daeira, nymph of Eleusis.
FATHERED : 1. Kephalos, Athenian lord; 2. Keryx, herald Eleusinian Mysteries; 3. Eleusis, king of Eleusis.
1) KEPHALOS Athenian Lord
Pseudo-Hyginus, Fabulae 160 (trans. Grant) (Roman mythographer C2nd A.D.) :
"Sons of Mercurius [Hermes] . . . Cephalus by Creusa, daughter of Erechtheus."
Pseudo-Hyginus, Fabulae 241 :
"Cephalus, son of Deion or of Mercurius [Hermes]."
For the MYTH of Hermes' seduction of Herse see Hermes Loves: Herse
2) KERYX Herald of the Eleusinian Mysteries
Pausanias, Description of Greece 1. 38. 3 (trans. Jones) (Greek travelogue C2nd A.D.) :
"Eumolpos [minister of Demeter's Eleusinian Mysteries] was survived by Keryx, the younger of his sons whom the Kerykes themselves say was a son of Aglauros, daughter of Kekrops, and of Hermes, not of Eumolpos."
For an alternative MYTH of Hermes and Agraulos see Hermes Wrath: Agraulos
3) ELEUSIS King of Eleusis OR Goddess of Eleusis
Pausanias, Description of Greece 1. 38. 7 (trans. Jones) (Greek travelogue C2nd A.D.) :
"The hero Eleusis, after whom the city is named, some assert to be a son of Hermes and of Daeira, daughter of Okeanos; there are poets, however, who have made Ogygos father of Eleusis. Ancient legends, deprived of the help of poetry, have given rise to many fictions, especially concerning the pedigrees of heroes."
Pseudo-Hyginus, Fabulae 275 (trans. Grant) (Roman mythographer C2nd A.D.) :
"Towns and their founders . . . Eleusinus, son of Mercurius [Hermes], founded Eleusis."
For the MYTH of Hermes' seduction of Daeira see Hermes Loves: Daeira
For MORE information on the goddess Eleusis see ELEUSIS
FAMILY IN CORINTH (SOUTHERN GREECE)
LOVED : 1. Alkidameia, princess of Korinthos.
FATHERED : 1. Bounos, king of Korinthos.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 2. 3. 10 (trans. Jones) (Greek travelogue C2nd A.D.) :
"When Aeetes was departing for Kolkhis he entrusted his land [the kingdom of Korinthos] to Bounos, the son of Hermes and Alkidameia, and when Bounos died Epopeus the son of Aloios extended his kingdom to include the Ephyraeans."
FAMILY IN SICYONIA (SOUTHERN GREECE)
LOVED : 1. Khthonophyle, queen of Sikyon.
FATHERED : 1. Polybos, king of Sikyon.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 2. 6. 6 (trans. Jones) (Greek travelogue C2nd A.D.) :
"Sikyon had a daughter Khthonophyle, and they say that she and Hermes were the parents of Polybos."
FAMILY IN ARGOLIS (SOUTHERN GREECE)
LOVED : 1. Phylodameia, princess of Argos.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 4. 30. 2 (trans. Jones) (Greek travelogue C2nd A.D.) :
"Pharai [in Messenia] is seventy stades distant from Abia . . . The founder Pharis [in Messenia] is said to have been the son of Hermes and Phylodameia the daughter of Danaus."
FAMILY IN MESSENIA (SOUTHERN GREECE)
FATHERED : 1. Pharis, lord of Pharis.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 4. 30. 2 (trans. Jones) (Greek travelogue C2nd A.D.) :
"Pharai [in Messenia] is seventy stades distant from Abia . . . The founder Pharis is said to have been the son of Hermes and Phylodameia the daughter of Danaus [of Argos]."
FAMILY IN ELIS (SOUTHERN GREECE)
LOVED : 1. Theoboule, Eleian lady.
FATHERED : 1. Myrtilos, Eleian lord; 2. Palaistra, goddess of wrestling.
1. MYRTILOS Eleian lord
Pausanias, Description of Greece 5. 1. 7 (trans. Jones) (Greek travelogue C2nd A.D.) :
"Pelops was the first to found a temple of Hermes in Peloponnesos and to sacrifice to the god, his purpose being to avert the wrath of the god for the death of Myrtilos [whom he murdered]."
Pausanias, Description of Greece 8. 14. 10 :
"Behind the temple [of Hermes at Pheneos in Arkadia] is the grave of Myrtilos. The Greeks say that he was the son of Hermes, and that he served as charioteer to Oinomaos. Whenever a man arrived to woo the daughter of Oinomaos, Myrtilos craftily drove on the mares, while Oinomaos on the course shot down the wooer when he came near."
Pseudo-Hyginus, Fabulae 224 (trans. Grant) (Roman mythographer C2nd A.D.) :
"Mortals who were made immortal [as constellations] . . . Myrtilus, son of Mercurius [Hermes] and Theobule, as the Charioteer."
Pseudo-Hyginus, Astronomica 2. 13 :
"Others identified him [the constellation Auriga] as the son of Mercury [Hermes] and Clytie, Myrtilus by name, the charioteer of Oenomaus."
2. PALAISTRA Goddess of Wrestling
Philostratus the Elder, Imagines 2. 32 (trans. Fairbanks) (Greek rhetorician C3rd A.D.) :
"Palaistra, the daughter of Hermes, who has just come to womanhood in Arkadia [i.e. Olympia], has discovered the art [of wrestling.]"
For the MYTH of Hermes and his son Myrtilos see:
(1) Hermes Favour: Myrtilus
(2) Hermes Wrath: Pelops
FAMILY IN ARCADIA (SOUTHERN GREECE)
LOVED : 1. Penelopeia, Oread nymph; 1. Sose, Oread nymph; 2. Karmentis, Naiad nymph.
FATHERED : 1. Pan & the Panes, god of shepherds; 2. Euandros, Arkadian lord.
1) PAN & THE PANES Arkadian Gods
Pseudo-Apollodorus, Bibliotheca E7. 38 (trans. Aldrich) (Greek mythographer C2nd A.D.) :
"When she [Penelope, wife of Odysseus] reached Mantineia in Arkadia [on a return visit to her father Ikarios] she bore Pan to Hermes."
Pliny the Elder, Natural History 7. 204 (trans. Rackham) (Roman encyclopedia C1st A.D.) :
"Pan son of Mercurius [Hermes] [invented] the pipe and single flute."
For the MYTH of Hermes' seduction of Penelopeia see Hermes Loves: Penelopeia
For the MYTH of Hermes and the god's brith see Hermes & the Birth of Pan
For MORE information on these rustic deities see PAN and PANES
2) EUANDROS Arkadian Lord
Pausanias, Description of Greece 8. 43. 2 (trans. Jones) (Greek travelogue C2nd A.D.) :
"Well, the story is that the wisest man and the best soldier among the Arkadians was one Euandros, whose mother was a Nymphe, a daughter of the Ladon, while his father was Hermes. Sent out to establish a colony at the head of a company of Arkadians from Pallantion, he founded a city [part of the future Rome] on the banks of the river Tiberos."
FAMILY IN BOEOTIA (CENTRAL GREECE)
FATHERED : 1. Orion, giant and prince of Hyria.
For the MYTH of Orion's birth see Hermes Favour: Hyrieus
FAMILY IN PHOCIS (CENTRAL GREECE)
LOVED : 1. Khione, princess of Phokis.
FATHERED : 1. Autolykos, prince of Phokis.
Pseudo-Apollodorus, Bibliotheca 1. 112 (trans. Aldrich) (Greek mythographer C2nd A.D.) :
"The Argonauts. The assembly of nobles consistered of the following : . . . Autolykos, son of Hermes."
Pausanias, Description of Greece 8. 4. 6 (trans. Jones) (Greek travelogue C2nd A.D.) :
"Autolykos, who lived on Mount Parnassos, and was said to be a son of Hermes, although his real father was Daidalion."
Ovid, Metamorphoses 13. 146 ff (trans. Melville) (Roman epic C1st B.C. to C1st A.D.) :
"My [Odysseus'] father is Laertes, his Arcesius, and his was Juppiter [Zeus] . . . and on my mother's side add Cyllenius [Hermes father of Autolykos], nobility again, both sides divine."
For the MYTH of Hermes' seduction of this princess see Hermes Loves: Chione
For MYTHS of Hermes and his son see Hermes Favour: Autolycus
FAMILY IN LOCRIS (CENTRAL GREECE)
FATHERED : 1. Abderos, prince of Opous.
Pseudo-Apollodorus, Bibliotheca 2. 97 (trans. Aldrich) (Greek mythographer C2nd A.D.) :
"Abderos [companion of Herakles] was Hermes' son, a Lokrian from the town of Opous, and Herakles lover."
FAMILY IN PHTHIOTIS (NORTHERN GREECE)
LOVED : 1 - 2. Eupolemeia, princess of Phthia; 3. Antianeira, lady of Alope.
FATHERED : 1 - 2. Eurytos & Ekhion, lords of Elope; 3. Aithalides, Larissan lord; 4. Eudoros, Phthian lord.
1 - 2) EURYTOS & EKHION Lords of Alope
Pseudo-Apollodorus, Bibliotheca 1. 112 (trans. Aldrich) (Greek mythographer C2nd A.D.) :
"The Argonauts. The assembly of nobles consistered of the following : . . . Eurytos, son of Hermes."
Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica 1. 51 ff (trans. Rieu) (Greek epic C3rd B.C.) :
"Nor at Alope stayed the sons of Hermes, rich in corn-land [but came as well to join the voyage of the Argonauts], well skilled in craftiness, Eurytos and Ekhion, and with them on their departure their kinsman Aithalides went as the third . . . the two others were sprung from Antianeira, daughter of Menetes."
Pseudo-Hyginus, Fabulae 14 (trans. Grant) (Roman mythographer C2nd A.D.) :
"Argonauts Assembled . . . Aethalides, son of Mercurius [Hermes] and Eupolemia . . . Eurytus and Echion, sons of Mercurius [Hermes] and Antianira, daughter of Menetus, from the city Alope, which is now called Ephesus; some authors think them Thessalians [there is a town of Alope in Malis near Thessalia]."
Pseudo-Hyginus, Fabulae 160 :
"Sons of Mercurius [Hermes] . . . Echion by Antianira, and Eurytus."
Pseudo-Hyginus, Fabulae 173 :
"Those Who Hunted the Calydonian Boar . . . Eurytus son of Mercurius [Hermes] and Echion, son of Mercurius [Hermes]."
3) AITHALIDES Larissaean Lord
Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica 1. 51 ff (trans. Rieu) (Greek epic C3rd B.C.) :
"Eurytos and Ekhion [sons of Hermes joined the Argonauts], and with them on their departure their kinsman Aithalides went as the third; him near the streams of Amphrysos Eupolemeia bare, the daughter of Myrmidon, from Phthia."
Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica 1. 641 ff :
"Aithalides the swift herald, to whose care they entrusted their messages and the wand of Hermes, his sire."
Pseudo-Hyginus, Fabulae 14 (trans. Grant) (Roman mythographer C2nd A.D.) :
"Argonauts Assembled . . . Aethalides, son of Mercurius [Hermes] and Eupolemia, daughter of Myrmidon; he was a Larissaean."
For the MYTH of Hermes and his son see Hermes Favour: Aethalides
4) EUDOROS Phthian Lord
Homer, Iliad 16. 181 ff (trans. Lattimore) (Greek epic C8th B.C.) :
"The next battalion [of Akhilleus' Myrmidones] was led by warlike Eudoros, a maiden's child, born to one lovely in the dance, Polymele, daughter of Phylas; whom strong Hermes Argeiphontes loved . . . she bore him a son, the shining Eudoros, a surpassing runner and a quick man in battle."
For the MYTH of Hermes' seduction of his mother see Hermes Loves: Polymele
FAMILY IN THESSALY (NORTHERN GREECE)
LOVED : 1. Iphthime, princess of Doros; 2. Brimo, goddess (probably Hekate).
FATHERED : 1. Pherespondos, Lykos & Pronomos, satyrs.
Nonnus, Dionysiaca 14. 105 ff (trans. Rouse) (Greek epic C5th A.D.) :
"Pherespondos, Lykos the loudvoiced herald, and Pronomos renowned for intelligence--all sons of Hermes, when he had joined Iphthime to himself in secret union. She was the daughter of Doros, himself sprung from Zeus."
For the MYTH of Hermes' seduction of Brimo see Hermes Loves: Brimo
For the MYTH of Hermes' seduction of Iphthime see Hermes Loves: Iphthime
FAMILY IN SAMOTHRACE (GREEK AEGEAN)
LOVED : 1. Rhene, nymph of Samothrake.
FATHERED : 1. Saon, king of Samothrake.
Diodorus Siculus, Library of History 5. 48. 1 (trans. Oldfather) (Greek historian C1st B.C.) :
"One of the inhabitants of the island [of Samothrake], a certain Saon, who was a son, as some say, of Zeus and a Nymphe, but, according to others, of Hermes and Rhene, gathered into one body the peoples who were dwelling in scattered habitations and established laws for them."
FAMILY IN RHODES (GREEK AEGEAN)
LOVED : 1. Apemosyne, princess of Rhodes.
For the MYTH of Hermes' seduction of this princess see Hermes Loves: Apemosyne
FAMILY IN CRETE (GREEK AEGEAN)
LOVED : 1. Akakallis, princess of Krete.
FATHERED : 1. Kydon, lord of Kydonia.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 8. 53. 4 (trans. Jones) (Greek travelogue C2nd A.D.) :
"The Kretans dissent from the account of the Tegeans, saying that Kydon [eponym of Kydonia in Krete] was a son of Hermes and of Akakallis, daughter of Minos."
FAMILY IN THE TROAD (ANATOLIA)
LOVED : 1. Aphrodite, goddess of love.
FATHERED : 1. Hermaphroditos, demi-god.
For the MYTH of Hermes seduction of Aphrodite see Hermes Loves: Aphrodite
For the MYTH of Hermes and his son see Hermes Favour: Hermaphroditus
For MORE information on this hermaphroditic child see HERMAPHRODITOS
FAMILY IN TEUTHRANIA (ANATOLIA)
LOVED : 1. Okyrrhoe, Naiad nymph.
FATHERED : 1. Kaikos, king of Teuthrania.
Kaikos sources not currently quoted here: Pseudo-Plutarch On Rivers.
FAMILY IN MYSIA (ANATOLIA)
LOVED : 1. Aphrodite, goddess of love.
FATHERED : 1. Priapos, vegetation god of Lampsakos.
Pseudo-Hyginus, Fabulae 160 (trans. Grant) (Roman mythographer C2nd A.D.) :
"Sons of Mercurius [Hermes]. Priapus."
For MORE information on this god see PRIAPOS
FAMILY IN EGYPT (NORTH AFRICA) & ARABIA (WEST ASIA)
LOVED : 1. Thronia, princess of Egypt; 2. Aphrodite, goddess of love.
FATHERED : 1. Arabos, king of Arabia.
Hesiod, Catalogues of Women Fragment 15 (from Strabo, Geography 14. 1. 42) (trans. Evelyn-White) (Greek epic C8th or 7th B.C.) :
"Arabos, whom worthy Hermaon begat with Thronia, daughter of the lord Belos [King of Egypt]."
For the MYTH of Hermes' seduction of Aphrodite see Hermes Loves: Aphrodite
FAMILY IN LIBYA (NORTH AFRICA)
LOVED : 1. Libye, princess of Libya.
FATHERED : 1. Libys, king of Libya.
Pseudo-Hyginus, Fabulae 160 (trans. Grant) (Roman mythographer C2nd A.D.) :
"Sons of Mercurius [Hermes] . . . Libys by Libye, daughter of Palamedes [perhaps the prince of Nauplia in Greece]."
FAMILY IN LATIUM (CENTRAL ITALY)
FATHERED : 1. Euandros, king of Latium; Phaunos, king of Latium.
1) EUANDROS King of Latium
Virgil, Aeneid 8. 134 ff (trans. Day-Lewis) (Roman epic C1st B.C.) :
"[Aeneas addresses Euander :] ‘Mercurius [Hermes] is your father--Mercurius whom fair Maia conceived and bore upon the snowy peak of Cyllene.’"
Euandros (or Evander) sources not currently quoted here: Dionysius of Halicarnassus 1.32.1; Ovid Fasti 1.471, 1.521, 4.65, 5.90; Pausanias 8.43.2; Virgil, Aeneid 8.52, 8.104, 8.336, 8.511
2) PHAUNOS King of Latium
Phaunus (or Faunus) sources not currently quoted here: Plutarch Parallel Stories 38
FAMILY IN SICILY (SOUTHERN ITALY)
FATHERED : 1. Daphnis, Sicilian bard.
Parthenius, Love Romances 29 (trans. Gaselee) (Greek poet C1st B.C.) :
"From the Sikelika of Timaios [historian C3rd B.C.]: In Sikelia (Sicily) was born Daphnis the son of Hermes, who was skilled in playing on the pipes and also exceedingly beautiful. He would never frequent the places where men come together, but spent his life in the open, both winter and summer, keeping his herds on the slopes of Aitna."
Aelian, Historical Miscellany 10. 18 (trans. Wilson) (Greek rhetorician C2nd to 3rd A.D.) :
"Some say the herdsman Daphnis was the favourite boy of Hermes, others that he was his son. He acquired his name from something that happened to him: he was the child of a nymphe, exposed after birth beside a laurel tree."
FAMILY IN IBERIA (SPAIN) & SARDINIA (NEAR ITALY)
LOVED : 1. Erytheia, princess of Erytheia (Iberia).
FATHERED : 1. Norax, king of Sardinia.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 10. 17. 5 (trans. Jones) (Greek travelogue C2nd A.D.) :
"The Iberians crossed to Sardinia, under Norax as leader of the expedition, and they founded the city of Nora. The tradition is that this was the first city in the island, and they say that Norax was a son of Erytheia, the daughter of Geryones, with Hermes for his father."
SOURCES
GREEK
- Hesiod, Catalogues of Women Fragments - Greek Epic C8th - 7th B.C.
- Apollodorus, The Library - Greek Mythography C2nd A.D.
- Apollonius Rhodius, The Argonautica - Greek Epic C3rd B.C.
- Parthenius, Love Romances - Greek Mythography C1st B.C.
- Pausanias, Description of Greece - Greek Travelogue C2nd A.D.
- Aelian, Historical Miscellany - Greek Rhetoric C2nd - 3rd A.D.
- Philostratus the Elder, Imagines - Greek Rhetoric C3rd A.D.
ROMAN
- Hyginus, Fabulae - Latin Mythography C2nd A.D.
- Hyginus, Astronomica - Latin Mythography C2nd A.D.
- Pliny the Elder, Natural History - Latin Encyclopedia C1st A.D.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
A complete bibliography of the translations quoted on this page.