Roman Provincial - Bronze 21mm (5.8 grams) Thessalonica
Autonomous circa 100-200 A.D.
Deified personification of Thessalonica right.
Hermes standing left holding parasol and money pouch.
* Numismatic Note: Very rare provincial coin under the Romans
in fantastic condition.
You are bidding on the exact item pictured,
provided with a Certificate of Authenticity and Lifetime Guarantee of
Authenticity.
Hermes is the great Messenger of the gods in
Greek mythology as well as a
guide to
the Underworld. An
Olympian god, he is also the patron of boundaries and of the travelers who
cross them, of
shepherds and
cowherds, of thieves and road travelers, of orators and wit, of literature
and poets, of athletics, of weights and measures, of invention, of general
commerce, and of the cunning of thieves and liars.[1]
His symbols include the tortoise, the
cock, the
winged sandals, and the
caduceus.
In the Roman adaptation of the Greek religion (see
interpretatio romana), Hermes was identified with the Roman god
Mercury, who, though inherited from the
Etruscans, developed many similar characteristics, such as being the patron
of commerce.
The
Homeric hymn to Hermes invokes him as the one "of many shifts (polytropos),
blandly cunning, a robber, a cattle driver, a bringer of dreams, a watcher by
night, a thief at the gates, one who was soon to show forth wonderful deeds
among the deathless gods."
He protects and takes care of all the travelers, miscreants, harlots, old
crones and
thieves that pray to him or cross his path. He is athletic and is always looking
out for runners, or any athletes with injuries who need his help. Hermes is a
messenger from the gods to humans, sharing this role with
Iris. An interpreter who bridges the boundaries with strangers is a
hermeneus. Hermes gives us our word "hermeneutics"
for the art of interpreting hidden meaning. In Greek a lucky find was a
hermaion. Hermes delivered messages from Olympus to the mortal world. He
wears shoes with wings on them and uses them to fly freely between the mortal
and immortal world. Hermes was the second youngest of the
Olympian gods, being born before
Dionysus.
Hermes, as an inventor of fire, is a parallel of the
Titan,
Prometheus. In addition to the
lyre, Hermes was
believed to have invented many types of racing and the sport of
wrestling,
and therefore was a patron of athletes.
According to prominent
folklorist
Yeleazar Meletinsky, Hermes is a deified
trickster.[5]
Hermes also served as a
psychopomp,
or an escort for the dead to help them find their way to the
afterlife
(the
Underworld in the Greek myths). In many Greek myths, Hermes was depicted as
the only god besides
Hades,
Persephone,
Hecate, and
Thanatos who could enter and leave the Underworld without hindrance.
Hermes often helped travelers have a safe and easy journey. Many Greeks would
sacrifice to Hermes before any trip.
In the fully-developed Olympian pantheon, Hermes was the son of
Zeus and the
Pleiade
Maia, a daughter of the Titan
Atlas. Hermes' symbols were the
cock and the
tortoise,
and he can be recognized by his purse or pouch,
winged sandals,
winged cap,
and the herald's staff, the
kerykeion. Hermes was the god of thieves since he was very cunning and
shrewd, as well as a thief himself from the night he was born; he slipped away
from Maia and stole his elder brother
Apollo's
cattle.
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