104 MYTHOLOGY AND RELIGIOUS RITES. 
justify themselves in violating them, when it appeared their interest to 
do so. Le 4 
Considering the multiplicity of his offices and the extensive worship paid 
to him, it is easy to account for the numerous and diversified modes of repre- 
senting him, both in statuary and painting. In the earlier efforts of art, 
particularly in busts (pl. 21, jig. 22), he was represented with a flowing 
beard and waving locks; and the prevailing expression here is that of a 
teacher and propagator of religious ideas and useful knowledge. Subse- 
quently he was ranked among the beardless and more youthful gods, and 
here the features of cunning and dexterity reveal themselves. The bust 
(pl. 28, fig. 10) shows him with short curly hair, and small ears and mouth. 
His physical structure is handsome and compact, and well suits the inventor 
of gymnastics. His attitude, gesture, and mien all mark him as the thought- 
ful, active, and friendly deity, with whom it would prove an easy task to 
accomplish any negotiation, however intricate and difficult. In short, 
he exhibits corporeal beauty and intellectual versatility admirably blended. 
In regard to his exterior, we sometimes find him entirely naked, sometimes 
wearing a cloak which hangs loosely over the shoulders, or is folded over 
the arm. His distinguishing characteristics are the wings and the caduceus. 
The wings were attached to his head or hat, and sometimes also to his feet 
or ankles; they represented the promptness and rapidity with which he 
accomplished his errands. The caduceus was a rod with wings at the 
end, and two serpents wound round it, and servedas a heraldic staff or 
magic wand, with the aid of which he produced sudden transformations, 
invisibility, and sleep. Hermes often wears a hat with a low crown and a 
brim of various breadth; the hat belongs to him as a traveller. As the 
messenger of the gods (pl. 20, jig. 19) he appears in the hat and a short 
mantle, holding the caduceus: as Hermes Agonios or the Wrestler (jig. 20) 
the mantle is thrown over the left shoulder, to indicate activity in executing 
the commands of the gods. The tortoise on which one foot is placed refers 
to his invention of the Jyre. On the coin or gem (pl. 27, jig. 5) he supports 
the tortoise on a disk, his own arm resting on a pillar. In the character of 
Hermes the Eloquent (fig. 4) he stands in the attitude of an orator. The 
mantle hangs gracefully on the right arm, the left arm is raised; and the 
stump of a palm tree close by is designed to remind us that as the discoverer 
of letters and numbers he recorded his earliest instructions on palm leaves. 
On pl. 28, jig. 7, his whole figure and bearing, and particularly the signifi- 
cant gesture of the fore finger, powerfully express the qualities of ready 
ingenuity and cool calculation; while in jig. 9, the ram’s head in a sacred 
vessel describes him as the establisher and regulator of religious ceremonies. 
In fig. 8 he sits upon his mantle, which is thrown over a ram; a position 
which indicates his office as the protector of flocks. 
Hermes was represented in different degrees of age. In pil. 24, fig. 22, we 
see him as a mere boy, dressed in a short leather tunic. He holds in his 
left hand a bag or purse, which marks him as the god of traffic. His right 
finger is placed on his chin, and his countenance exhibits that roguish or 
mischievous smile which the thought of some adroit plan might naturally 
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