Messenger

=**5th period**=



=**Hermes/Mercury**= Hermes, one of the twelve Greek Olympian Gods is known as "Mercury" to the Romans. Maia, who was impregnated by Zeus, known as Jupiter to the Romans, gave birth to Hermes. On his first day of life he not only invented the lyre, but he also stole the sacred flocks of cattle from Apollo. Apollo was at first angered, but when he heard Hermes play the lyre, he was enchanted and agreed to trade the sacred flocks for the lyre (Littleton 672).

Hermes primary duty is as the messenger for the Gods, primarily Zeus (Leadbetter). He accomplishes this using magical winged sandals that allow him to fly (Wikipedia Hermes).

=**Caduceus**=

Definitions:

 * 1) a noun meaning "staff" or "wand" (Merriam-Webster).
 * 2) "Staff carried by Hermes as a symbol of peace" (Britannica).

**Origin:**
In the Greek myth, //The Story of Tiresias//, Tiresias found two snakes mating and killed the female serpent. He then transformed into a woman and in seven years he killed a male serpent and turned back into a man (Ovid 67). He understood both aspects of gender and had a new scence of stability and peace in harmony. The caduceus of Hermes is a "winged staff twined with two serpents around it" (Britannica). The wings represent Hermes' speed and the intertwined snakes represent this harmony (Britannica).

The English word "caduceus" and the caduceus itself are now used as symbols of the medical profession (WIkipedia). However, the word still refers to the magical staff of Hermes (Wikipedia).

Usage:
As I sat in the waiting room of the hospital, I found myself staring at the image of a caduceus in the sliding glass door.

=**Hermeneutic**=

Definition:

 * A method or principle of interpretation especially of religious texts (Merriam-Webster).

**Origin:**
To explain or interpret something profound such as religious texts requires wit and smarts. Hermes had both of these virtues as can shown by the following myth. On the day of Hermes's birth he crawled out of his cradle and stole the cattle of his older brother Apollo. Apollo ran after him furiously, but Hermes drove the cattle in all different directions to confuse his brother. To conceal the tracks of the cattle, Hermes connected brushwood to the tails of the cattle. Another legend has it that he put sandals on himself and the cattle to hide the tracks. Then, Hermes killed all the cattle and sacrificed them to the Gods. When Apollo finally confronted him about his treachery, Hermes slyly said that he was only a baby and did not even know what cows were (Littleton 672). As the messenger God, Hermes was called on to interpret Zeus's messages to other gods (Leadbetter).

Usage:
Using his knowledge of hermeneutics, the teacher, who insisted on referring to me as a "scholar," helped me to understand the book of Genesis like never before.

=**Hermetic**=

Definitions:

 * 1) Relating to mysterious, secret or occult practices, or
 * 2) Pertaining to sealing from the surrounding substances. (Wiktionary)

Origin:
This word is related to the Greek god Hermes in a rather roundabout method. This term actually derives from an Egyptian man named Hermes Trismegistus who founded the school of Hermeticism. He eventually came to represent or even replace both the God Hermes and the Egyptian God Thoth (Styler). His psuedoscientific and religious teachings were bound into a secret cult, from this we get the first definition of "Hermetic" (Bennett).

The next definition is derived from one of Trismegistus's most famous feats. Trismegistus was said to have been able to seal a chest permanently from both the surrounding atmosphere and from people trying to access the contents of the chest. From this we get the term "hermetically sealed." This means that that the outside air cannot enter or interact with the contents inside of a container (Styler).

Usage:

 * There is a peculiarly hermetic quality to his followers.
 * This jar has been hermetically sealed; the pickles definitely won't go bad.

=**Mercurial**=

Definitions:

 * 1) Fast, lively and free-flowing, or
 * 2) Related to Hermes, or the planet named after him, Mercury (Wiktionary Mercurial).

Origin:
This is a fantastic term to use in poetry and literature do to its great imagery. Hermes, as the messenger god, was required to be very quick. To accomplish this, he had a pair of winged sandals and a winged helmet which allowed him to fly (Bentor). Given that one of the earliest English names for the element Mercury was "quicksilver," it makes sense that it would be be named after the fastest god (Rayment).

The red planet has been known as Mercury since the time of Roman astronomers (Stathopoulo). The element of Mercury was originally thought to be the base of all metals and therefore closest to the gold. The sun represented gold in ancient astrology so it seemed logical to name the element closest to gold after the planet closest to the sun (Van der Krogt).

Usage:

 * The demonstration clearly showed the mercurial properties of liquid helium.
 * That comet is expected to cross the Mercurial line of orbit at some point in 2011.

=**Works Cited**= Bennett, James. "Hermes Trismegistus and the Hermetic Writings - The Cult." __Hermes Trismegistus and the__ > __Hermetic Writings__. 2 Oct 2008 

Bentor, Yinon. Chemical Element.com - Mercury. Oct. 2, 2008 > .

Bullfinch, Thomas. __Myths of Greece and Rome__. 1st Ed.. New York: Penguin Books, 1981.

"Caduceus." __Britannica Concise Encyclopedia__. 2 Oct 2008 > ."Caduceus."

"Caduceus." __Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary__. 2008. Merriam-Webster Online. 1 October 2008 > http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/caduceus

"Caduceus." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 5 Oct 2008, 14:20 UTC. 5 Oct 2008 > .

"Hermeneutic." __Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary__. 2008. Merriam-Webster Online. 4 October 2008 > http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hermeneutic

"hermetic - Wiktionary." __Wiktionary__. 29 Aug 2008. Wikimedia. 5 Oct 2008 > .

"Hermes." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia//. 1 Oct 2008, 17:23 UTC. 2 Oct 2008// > .

Leadbetter, Ron. "Hermes." __Encyclopedia Mythica__. 08 Feb 2006. 5 Oct 2008 > .

Littleton, Scott. __Gods, Goddesses, and Mythology__. 1st. Tarrytown, New York: Marshall Cavendish > corporation, 2005.

"mercurial - Wiktionary." __Wiktionary__. 29 Aug 2008. Wikimedia. 5 Oct 2008 > .

"Mercury (mythology)." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia//. 29 Sep 2008, 05:57 UTC. 2 Oct 2008// > //.//

//Ovid, "Metamorphoses." __Metamorpheses__. Ed. Rolfe Humphries. Bloomington, Indiana: Winifred// > //Davies, 1983.//

//Rayment, W. J. "Quicksilver, the Element Mercury." __Mercury in Fact and Fiction__. 2008. 2 Oct// > //2008 .//

//Stathopoulo, Vic. "The Planet Mercury." __AeroSpaceGuide__. 2008. Aero Space Guide. 2 Oct 2008// > //.//

//Styler, Will. "The Alchemical origin of “Hermetically Sealed” (and some site news)." __Notes from a__// > //linguistic Mystic. 05 May 2007. WordPress. 2 Oct 2008 .//

//Van der Krogt, Peter. "Hydrargyrum Mercury / Quicksilver." __Elementymology & Elements Multidict__.// > //05 May 2005. 2 Oct 2008 .//

//

 The Messenger God Mercury The god Mercury/Hermes is a well know god from Ancient Greek and Roman times. Hermes is porteyed in mythology as the son the god Zeus and a nymph named Maia. Hermes is the god of shepherds, land travel, merchants, weights and measures, oratory, literature, athletics and thieves, and known for his cunning and shrewdness(Leadbetter). He is better known as the messenger of the gods, but most of the messenger of Zeus. He is ofen portrayed in paintings, sculptures, and literature holding a long staff called a caduceus.This has become a modern day hospital symbol. He has also earned fame through his winged shoes and helmet that enable him to fly fast. Acording to popular mythology, on the first day of existence Hermes stole the sacred catle of his brother Apollo and also invented the lyre the same day(Gill). Using the lyre he was able to earn Apollo's forgivness. As messenger to the gods Hermes must also escort the dead souls to the underworld(Leadbetter). ** Caduceus **** - ** “ An ancient Greek or Roman herald’s wand, typically one with two serpents twined round it, carried by the messenger god Hermes or Mercury.”(Oxford, Caduceus) Mercury was the messenger-god of Jupiter(or to the greeks Jove), and was the god of games, of business, and of story telling. Definition : “  The caduceus or wand of Hermes is typically depicted as a short herald's [|staff] entwined by two [|serpents] in the form of a double [|helix], and sometimes surmounted by wings. In later [|Antiquity] the caduceus may have provided the basis for the [|astrological symbol] representing the planet Mercury and in [|Roman] [|iconography] was often depicted being carried in the left hand of the Greek god [|Hermes], the messenger of the gods, guide of the dead and protector of merchants, gamblers, liars and thieves .”(en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caduceus) Usage Hermes used his caduceus during the olympics.
 * 6th period **

Definition : “the study of the mythodological principle of interpretation”, “a method or principle of interpretation”(meriam-webster) Usage Translators use hermeneutic methods of interpretation
 * Hermeneutic **** - ** “ . it comes from hermeneutical. The origin comes from Greek hermeneutikos, from hermeneuein which means interpret” (Oxford, Hermeneutic)

Definition: “Completely sealed, especially against the escape or entry of air. Impervious to outside interference or influence" ( [|www.answers.com/topic/hermetic])
 * Hermetic- ** Hermetic derives from the words hermetically adverb hermeticism noun. The origin can be found from Latin Hermes Trismegistus ‘thrice-greatest Hermes’, the legendary founder of alchemy and astrology identified with the Greek god Hermes.(Oxford, Hermetic)
 * Mercurial ** - The origin can be found from the Latin term mercurialis ‘relating to the god Mercury’, from Mercurius ‘Mercury’.

Definition: “ 1    ** : **  of, relating to, or born under the planet Mercury     2    ** : **  having qualities of eloquence, ingenuity, or thievishness attributed to the god Mercury or to the influence of the planet Mercury     3    ** : **  characterized by rapid and unpredictable changeableness of mood   <a   //mercurial// temper>    4    ** : **  of, relating to, containing, or caused by [|mercury] ”(   merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mercurial) Usage  Thieves have a mercurial quality about them.

Bibbliography

Leadbetter, Ron. "Hermes." __Encyclopedia Mythica__. 08 Feb 2006. 5 Oct 2008 > <http://www.pantheon.org/articles/h/hermes.html>. Gill, N.S. "Hermes-Mercury." __About.com__. 28 April 2007. 7 Oct 2008 <http://ancienthistory.about.com/cs/grecoromanmyth1/a/hermes.htm>

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