A Child's First Prank
As Chapter 6 describes, Zeus was enamored with Maia, one of the Pleiades. In order to spend time with her, Zeus had to sneak away from his sleeping wife. One of these meetings led to the birth of Hermes. As Zeus's son, this was no ordinary baby.
Hermes was born at dawn in a cave on Mount Cyllene. By noon, he had developed enough to explore his surroundings and sneak out of the cave. In his explorations, Hermes found a tortoise shell. He used this shell, along with an animal skin and sheep-gut strings, to devise the first lyre. He then taught himself to play the instrument he'd invented — all on the first afternoon of his life.
Hermes was born in Arcadia, where he became a popular deity. The Arcadians believed that Hermes was the god of fertility for both humans and animals, and they held festivals in his honor. These festivals, called Hermaea, featured athletic competitions.
Hermes' first day wasn't over yet. He continued to explore, wandering through the countryside, and came across the cattle of Apollo. Since Apollo was nowhere to be seen, little Hermes stole fifty cattle. He tied brushwood to his feet to obscure his footprints, and he drove the cattle backward so their tracks faced the opposite direction from where they'd actually gone.
An old man named Battus had witnessed Hermes' theft. Hermes made Battus promise not to tell anyone what he'd seen. The old shepherd agreed, but Hermes didn't trust him. After leaving, Hermes doubled back and disguised himself. He approached Battus as a stranger and asked about the missing cattle, offering a hefty reward. Battus did not hesitate — he told everything he'd seen. Angry with the man for breaking his promise, Hermes turned Battus into a stone.
Hermes hid the cattle in a cave in Pylos. At a nearby river, he sacrificed two of the cows to the Olympian deities, and then he burned the hooves and heads to get rid of the evidence. He also threw his brushwood sandals into the river. Satisfied that the cattle were safely hidden, Hermes crept back to his mother's cave by dusk. He dressed himself in the swaddling clothes he'd shed earlier and lay down to sleep, looking like an innocent child.
When Apollo returned to his herd and discovered that fifty cows were missing, he searched for them all over the world. Finally, he had to rely on his powers of divination, which led him to Hermes. Of course, Hermes proclaimed his innocence. How could a newborn child even know what a cow was? Furious, Apollo searched the cave where Hermes and Maia dwelled, but he found nothing. He was unwilling, however, to let the matter drop. Convinced of the young boy's guilt, he took Hermes before Zeus and accused him of stealing.
Again, Hermes feigned innocence, but he couldn't fool Zeus. In fact, during his hearing before Zeus, Hermes stole a bow and arrows from Apollo. Amused by these displays of his new son's cunning, Zeus ordered Hermes to lead Apollo to the cattle. Hermes complied willingly with a direct order from Zeus.
When Hermes and Apollo reached the cave on Pylos, Apollo asked why two of the herd were missing. Hermes admitted that he'd sacrificed two cows to the Olympian deities, dividing the meat into twelve equal portions. At this time, there were only eleven Olympian gods. Apollo wanted to know who Hermes thought the twelfth was. Hermes stated matter-of-factly that he was the twelfth god.
Some myths say that Hermes' sacrifice of the two cattle represented the first time that a sacrifice of flesh was made to the gods.
As Apollo gathered the herd, Hermes sat down and played his lyre. At once the god of music was enchanted. He wanted to know all about this new instrument and how it could make such beautiful sounds. Hermes took advantage of Apollo's interest and offered to trade his lyre for Apollo's entire herd. Craving the beautiful music, Apollo readily agreed. To cement the peace between them, Hermes returned Apollo's stolen bow and arrows. Apollo was amused by Hermes' skill, because he hadn't even realized they were gone. The two became good friends.
After giving Apollo his lyre, Hermes decided to create another musical instrument. This time, he made a reed-pipe. Hermes positioned himself where Apollo could hear him and began playing. Of course, Apollo was immediately interested in this new instrument and followed its sound. Apollo asked Hermes what he would take in trade for his reed-pipe. The two settled on Apollo's golden staff, which included the rights due to the god of shepherds, as a fair trade for the reed-pipe.
Hermes had a reputation for driving a hard bargain. In order to get the reed-pipe, Apollo had to offer more than his golden staff; he also had to grant Hermes the power of prophecy through reading pebbles. No wonder Hermes became known as the god of commerce.
