What Was Hermes Afraid Of?

Hermes, the Greek god known for his speed and cunning, was one of the twelve Olympian gods. He was the messenger of the gods and was responsible for guiding souls to the underworld. However, despite his power and abilities, there was something that Hermes feared.

According to Greek mythology, Hermes was afraid of Hera, the queen of the gods. Hera was known for her jealousy and anger towards Zeus’ many affairs with mortal women. As Hermes was Zeus’ son, Hera saw him as a reminder of Zeus’ infidelity.

Hermes knew that he had to be careful around Hera as she could be unpredictable and vengeful. In fact, there are several stories in Greek mythology that depict Hermes trying to avoid Hera’s wrath.

One such story involves Hermes stealing Apollo’s cattle and hiding them in a cave. When Apollo discovered that his cattle were missing, he went to Zeus to seek justice. Zeus ordered Hermes to return the cattle to Apollo and punish him accordingly.

However, when Hermes returned the cattle to Apollo, he also played his lyre and sang a beautiful song which enchanted Apollo. Apollo was so impressed with Hermes’ musical talent that he forgave him for stealing his cattle.

Despite this happy ending, Hermes knew that he had angered Hera by stealing from her favorite son. He immediately went into hiding and avoided her wrath until she forgot about the incident.

Another story involves Hermes helping Zeus seduce Io while disguising her as a beautiful white cow. When Hera found out about their affair, she became furious and demanded that Zeus give her the cow as a gift.

Zeus could not refuse Hera’s demand but asked Hermes to watch over Io while she was in cow form. However, Hera suspected something was amiss and sent Argus Panoptes (a giant with 100 eyes) to watch over Io.

Hermes knew that Argus would never fall asleep due to his many eyes, so he played his flute and put all of Argus’ eyes to sleep. He then killed Argus and freed Io from her cow form.

When Hera found out about Argus’ death, she was furious and vowed to take revenge on Hermes. However, Hermes was able to evade her wrath once again by using his speed and cunning.

In conclusion, while Hermes was a powerful god, he knew that he had to be careful around Hera. She was known for her jealousy and anger towards Zeus’ many affairs, and Hermes did not want to be on the receiving end of her wrath. Despite this fear, Hermes used his speed and cunning to avoid Hera’s vengeance and continue his duties as the messenger of the gods.