HERMES hûr’ mez (̔Ερμῆς, G2258). Hermes was a Gr. god, originally the spirit of the ἕρμα, or cairn, set up as a guidepost or boundary. Thus he came to be the guide of travelers and the giver of good luck, fertility, and cunning. Hermes became the patron of thieves and traders. In Gr. mythology Hermes was the son of Zeus and Maia, and best known as the messenger of the gods and the god of oratory. This is important to the reference to Hermes in Acts 14:12 (Mercurias in KJV and ASV was the equivalent Rom. god, as Jupiter was the counterpart of Zeus). When Barnabas and Paul were taken to be gods, Paul was designated Hermes “because he was the chief speaker.” In relation to this incident it is significant that Ovid wrote of a couple who entertained Jupiter and Mercury unawares. (For this, and for the worship of Zeus and Hermes in this area, see F. F. Bruce, New London Commentary on the Book of Acts [1965], 291f.)

A Christian named Hermes is mentioned (Rom. 16:14). This was a common name, esp. among slaves, prob. because Hermes was the god of good fortune.