Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

HERMES

(Gk. Hermḗs)

(DEITY)

A Hellenic deity, the son of Zeus and Maia. Hermes’ origin seems to have arisen from the hérma, or “stone heap,” which identified boundaries, graves, and entrances. Herms (bearded phalluses atop stone pillars) were later placed as markers at such places, and Athenians and others continued to represent Hermes in this form. The Romans later identified him with Mercury. Credited with inventing the lyre, he was also the patron of travelers, merchants, and messengers. He was believed to conduct the souls of the dead to Hades.

According to Acts 14:2 when Paul and Barnabas visited Lystra, the inhabitants believed that they were Hermes and Zeus respectively, implying that Paul’s role as the chief speaker was a cause of his association with Hermes, the god of rhetoric. The Latin poet Ovid relates a legend concerning Zeus and Hermes which takes place in the vicinity of Lystra (Metam. 8.611-725), and their names have been discovered in 3rd-century a.d. inscriptions in the area. Hermes was the most common theophoric personal name in the Roman Empire, and Paul addresses a Hermas and a Hermes in Rom. 16:14.

Paul Anthony Hartog

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

HERMES

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)