Hermes could not help but admire the tormented Titan’s resistance. He insisted: “Prometheus, do reconsider. Men need your protection on earth. And you cannot go on suffering like this, chained to your rock! There will be no end to this if you do not yield!”
Prometheus, however, seemed as unwavering as the rock to which he was tied:
“It is no use, Hermes, I will not speak. I am not afraid of suffering. Zeus thinks that he can command the entire world. He has absolute power. Yet he does not rule over my soul. I am free, in spite of my fetters.”
Hermes understood that none of his fine words would succeed in changing the rebel’s mind. He was secretly proud of him for this, exceedingly happy that someone dared to defy the master of the universe. Yet he was in despair for having to leave Prometheus to his terrible fate. He bowed his head and for once he could not find any words of farewell that he could speak. So he went away just like that, his throat tied into an even tighter knot than when he had arrived.
Hermes stopped in a nearby valley so he could think. He loved his father but he could not stand this situation. As he was sitting on the banks of a small brook, everything that Roxanne had taught him so he could discover the future came back to his mind. He grabbed some small round pebbles and began right away to throw them into the water, impatient to discover what the future held in store for Prometheus.
To be continued…
EPISODE 40
IN WHICH HERMES WITNESSES THE RESCUE OF PROMETHEUS
Previously: Zeus has sent Hermes to Prometheus so that the latter might reveal to him a secret, in exchange for his freedom. The Titan, however, has refused to talk.
Sitting on the banks of the brook, Hermes was busy throwing his small pebbles in the water. Little by little images of the future appeared. Hermes saw a man approaching the rock, a very big man, and, what is more, a very strong man. He was some kind of athlete with huge muscles, wearing a headband on his forehead and clad in a lion’s hide. He was called Heracles and he was travelling across the earth in search of a garden where golden apples grew. He carried a gigantic bow on his back. When Heracles arrived, the eagle was busy devouring the liver of Prometheus. Heracles did not hesitate for an instant. Without even trying to find out who it was that he was dealing with, or why this creature was chained in this manner, he took an arrow from his quiver, bent his bow and shot the arrow at the eagle. The arrow pierced through the bird’s heart and the eagle fell to the ground. Heracles then seized the enormous chains which attached the Titan to the rock and snapped them in two. Hermes was stunned by the strength of this man, who could grind the heavy metal to dust between his fingers. This Heracles seemed quite exceptional. The image was becoming blurred, however. Hermes threw some more small pebbles into the water so that he could see what would happen next.
Prometheus was rubbing his aching wrists and thanking Heracles at the same time, when Zeus appeared, surrounded by flashes of lightning. Was he going to fly into a terrible rage again? Hermes saw instantly from his face that the lord of the gods was in fact rather content. He approached Heracles, dropped his hand lightly on his shoulder and said: “Congratulations, my son! Your arrow has gone straight through the mark. Your strength and your ability fill me with pride. You are a true hero!” Then Zeus turned towards Prometheus. They stared hard at one another for a moment in silence. Finally, Zeus said: “I set you free, Prometheus, since my son has broken your chains. Yet, as a reminder of the punishment that I inflicted on you, you shall always wear a ring around your finger made from the steel of your chains. So you will never forget, I hope, this rightful punishment of your disobedience.” Prometheus offered no reply; he did not even lower his eyes. He snatched one of the snapped links of his chains and put it sharply on his finger.
When the image became blurred once more, Hermes felt reassured. He knew that a day would come when Prometheus would be set free and would even be pardoned, and that this would happen without his having to yield. From pure curiosity, he wanted to see a little bit more into the future, so he threw his small pebbles in the water for the third time. In the new image that appeared, he saw a creature half-man, half-horse lying on a bed of straw in the shadow of a cave. It was the Centaur Chiron. He was wounded and he appeared to be in great pain. Heracles was kneeling by his side, holding his head between his hands.
“Cursed be the arrow that has wounded you, my old friend!” exclaimed Heracles.
“Your hand did not desire it, do not cry, Heracles,” replied the Centaur. “If only I could die, however, instead of being immortal, my suffering would finally cease!”
At that moment, a shadow approached the cave. It was Prometheus. He too placed his knee upon the ground next to the wretched Centaur and said to him:
“Venerable Chiron, I offer you an exchange: give me your immortality and you shall be able to die in peace.”
A twinkle of joy filled the eyes of the wounded Centaur. “But do you think that Zeus will agree to this?” he asked.
“Zeus and I have become reconciled once more,” replied Prometheus. “I have asked him already and he agrees to your giving me your immortality, if you so wish it.”
Prometheus bent his head low before the Centaur. His long hair swept the ground and Chiron’s trembling hand rested on Prometheus’ head. A stronger trembling shook him for a moment, as though some invisible fluid were passing through the thin fingers of the Centaur and into the Titan’s long hair; then the hand stopped trembling altogether. It settled down gently like a dead bird in its nest.
In a single breath, Chiron murmured: “Thank you, Prometheus.”
Then he smiled and closed his eyes for ever. The darkness of the cave seemed less impenetrable. Heracles did not move, frozen in his posture of despair. Prometheus rose slowly to his feet. He came out of the cave at the very moment that dawn was breaking. The goddess Aurora was travelling across the sky. He was smiling. He had become immortal, like Zeus.
Hermes let this final image of the future become blurred in the water, then he resumed his way. He was glad about Prometheus’ future. Yet the farther he walked, the more he was gripped by a new anxiety. Zeus had sent him to the chained Prometheus so that he might obtain the name of the mother of the one who would take his place. And Prometheus had refused to talk. How would Zeus react to the fact that he had failed in his mission?
To be continued…
EPISODE 41
IN WHICH DIONYSUS COMES OUT OF HIS FATHER’S THIGH
Previously: Hermes returns home having set his mind at rest regarding the future of Prometheus, who is soon to be freed from his rock by Heracles.
As he reached Olympus, Hermes dreaded his father’s anger following the failure of his mission to Prometheus. Yet hardly had he pushed the palace door open than he was told that Zeus needed him, and that he was waiting for him on earth. Without wasting a second, Hermes again left to join the god of gods. He found him not too far from Thebes, sitting alone by the roadside.
“Hermes, help me, something terrible has happened,” said Zeus, sounding deeply distraught. “White-armed Hera has succeeded in causing the death of a woman that I loved. This woman Semele was carrying a child, my child. I took the unborn baby from his mother’s womb and I have hidden him so that he might escape my cruel wife. I would like to place him in someone’s care so he will be looked after. I thought of the Nymphs of Nysa, they are gentle and kind. I would like you to take the baby to them.”
Hermes could not leave his father in his distress and he was not at all averse to playing a trick at Hera’s expense. Yet he could not help asking himself how it could be that an as yet unborn baby had been saved.
“Let us go and get that baby quickly,” he replied. “Where have you hidden it?”
Hermes then saw Zeus get up, bend down towards his thigh… and pull out the baby from it! This was where he had put the child to protect it and so that it might continue to grow.
Hermes was dumbfounded: “A baby born from the thigh of Zeus, who would have
thought it…”
It was a little boy with golden locks and laughing eyes. He was plump, podgy even, and seemed to be a very contented baby. Hermes was immediately seduced by this new little brother. Zeus was gazing at him tenderly. He murmured:
“Even though your mother was not a goddess, you shall be a god among us. This is what I have decided. You shall be called Dionysus, he who has been born twice, and you shall be the god of Intoxication, Pleasure and Delight.”
Then Zeus placed his latest offspring in the arms of the messenger god, who instantly flew away.
Nysa was the most beautiful valley on earth. No one, however, knew its precise location. And yet Hermes was, with the exception of Zeus, the cleverest of the gods, after all. What is more, he was not the god of travellers for nothing. After having searched a great deal, he eventually found that secret place. He cast a satisfied glance upon the fields of flowers, the flowing streams, the vineyards stuffed with grapes and the trees heavily laden with fruit. The baby was going to grow up free in one of the most beautiful landscapes in the world. With an easy mind, Hermes placed Dionysus in the care of the local nymphs. He kissed him tenderly and murmured to him before leaving him: “You will always be under my protection. Be happy.” Then he returned to Olympus.
He found Zeus caught up in one of Hera’s bouts of anger and thought it better to hide behind a curtain. The goddess was walking up and down, throwing her arms about violently. She had found out about Dionysus’ rescue and her anger was terrible.
“How many children are you still going to beget outside this house?” she was shouting. “First there is that darling daughter of yours, Athena. She is the one you conceived inside your head. Yes, indeed, without the help of any woman! Then there are Apollo, Artemis and Hermes. But at least their mothers come from our own world, they are deities themselves. Now you include among us the son of an earthling! And you have even entrusted him with a mission! When will you ever stop, Zeus?”
The great king of Olympus was trying to make himself as small as a mouse. He said to his wife in the voice of a scolded child:
“I promise you that it’s over. The family of Olympus is now complete. Dionysus will be its last-born.” At these words Hera seemed to calm down and she went out in silence. Hermes then came out of his hiding place:
“Father, all is well, your son is in the hands of the nymphs of Nysa,” he said to him.
Zeus sighed, however: “Even so, he is not safe from Hera!”
Hermes knew well that his father was right. On his way to the palace he had learnt by what means Hera had caused Semele’s death. She had gone to the young woman disguised as a simple passer-by. “Are you quite certain that the man sleeping beside you is Zeus? You have never seen him in all his glory, have you now?” she had said to her.
On the following day, Semele had implored Zeus: “Promise me that you will grant me my dearest wish!” Zeus, deeply in love, had promised. And so Semele had said to him: “My dearest wish is to see you in all your glory!” Upon hearing this, Zeus had turned pale. He had recognized immediately Hera’s wicked counsel. To appear in all his glory was to show himself with his thunderbolt. And no mortal could see him like this without being struck dead. He had tried to make Semele understand this. Yet nothing could make her change her mind. She wanted proof that her lover was truly Zeus. Zeus had been obliged to keep his promise. He had shown himself to her therefore as the master of Olympus with the lightning bolt of the thunderstorm, and the young woman had instantly fallen thunderstruck. Zeus had just had time to hide in his thigh the unborn baby she had been carrying. This was how Dionysus had been saved. Hermes wondered anxiously how far Hera’s jealousy could possibly go.
To be continued…
EPISODE 42
IN WHICH THE YOUNG IO IS HOUNDED BY HERA’S JEALOUSY
Previously: Hermes has just helped his father Zeus save a new child he has fathered, called Dionysus. Yet he is worried that Hera’s jealousy might strike again.
One morning, not very long after the birth of little Dionysus, Hermes was once again summoned by his father. He found him looking mournful, his voice sounding weary.
“My boy,” sighed Zeus, “I find myself once more in a very awkward situation. While I was paying a visit on earth to a young woman called Io, my wife Hera arrived there as well. Knowing her jealousy, I immediately transformed Io into a small cow in order to hide her away from her eyes. But Hera was not hoodwinked: she asked me to offer her the pretty cow that was by my side. I could find no reason to refuse, you understand… I was obliged to say yes. Since then, she has locked up Io and she has put Argus, her faithful guardian, the one with the hundred eyes, to keep watch over her. When he closes some of his eyes to sleep, others remain open, it is impossible to outsmart him!” Having thus taken Hermes in his confidence, Zeus fell silent.
Hermes understood what Zeus wanted from him. He placed his fingers on his father’s arm and said: “Let me deal with this, I will take care of everything.” Then he flew away immediately.
Hermes located the prisoner and her warder very quickly. The cow was tied by a rope to an olive tree. She was looking forlornly to right and left. A hideous individual sat very close to her. Hermes landed on a rock not far from Argus. He hid his god’s clothes and disguised himself as a shepherd, then he took out a reed from his pocket and began to play. The sound of the flute was beautiful and Argus, who was getting awfully bored watching over this cow, beckoned to him to come closer. Skipping his way over, the boy did not need to be asked twice. And he began to chatter on and on… For his plan was to lull this monster to sleep by telling him stories. And as far as stories were concerned, Hermes knew thousands of them! He talked and talked, he played and played so much, that little by little Argus fell asleep. One after the other his eyelids closed shut. When ninety-nine of them had closed, lulled by Hermes’ voice and music, Hermes approached the monster gingerly, holding a great stone in his hand. The hundredth eye also closed at last, Hermes pounced, and knocked the monster senseless with his stone. Then he lopped off its head, and set Io free.
When he returned to Olympus, Zeus embraced his son tightly in his arms. Then he said to him, laughing: “Look at you! You have become the god of thieves, my son!” White-armed Hera, when she learnt of the death of her beloved watchman, began to howl with rage everywhere in the palace. In remembrance of Argus, she took the monster’s eyes and pinned them on the peacock’s tail. And ever since that day, peacocks don mysterious eyes on the feathers of their tails.
Her anger was not placated, however, and so Hera sent a gadfly, a great stinging fly, to chase after poor Io. Io began to run like mad in every direction. She travelled for miles and miles along a rocky shore. In remembrance of her frenzied race, the sea along which she had run took her name and has since been called the Ionian Sea.
Fortunately, her flight came to an end on the banks of a long and majestic river called the Nile. Zeus came there to join her and restored to her once more her human form. Io could now resume her peaceful existence. Having saved first Dionysus and then Io, as it were, Hermes was really hoping to be able to get some rest. It was clear that he did not know his father well!
To be continued…
EPISODE 43
IN WHICH WE MEET AN EXTRAORDINARY COUPLE OF LOVERS, PHILEMON AND BAUCIS
Previously: A young woman called Io, with whom Zeus had fallen in love, had suffered Hera’s persecution. But Hermes has managed to set the young woman free.
Lying on the grass, not very far from the palace’s secret door, Hermes was looking at the sky. He had an appointment with his father and he was very curious to know what new adventure Zeus would take him on this time. A light breeze was blowing and the young god watched with delight the racing clouds. He lay in wait for their ever-changing, soft forms, conjuring up a thousand stories based on one single little cloud. At five, Zeus pushed the door quietly open. This door allowed one to depart from Olympus unseen. When Zeus arrived, he was dressed in rags. Without a
word, he handed Hermes clothes as torn and filthy as his own. Then he beckoned to him to follow and they both descended from Olympus. One of Zeus’ greatest pleasures was to disguise himself as a simple mortal and to go off wandering across the earth unrecognized. In this way, he could observe men unhindered and assess the way they led their lives. Hermes just loved these trips. “You see, my son,” the king of the gods said finally, “today we are going to verify whether men are welcoming towards one another. For there is nothing more important than to be hospitable.”
With their filthy, tattered clothes, their dishevelled hair and their bare feet, Zeus and Hermes looked just like real beggars. And it was in this disguise that they went to knock on every door.
“Spare some alms, please,” asked Zeus, in the trembling voice of an old man.
“Give us a coin, a morsel of bread, for pity’s sake,” pleaded Hermes.
Yet no one took any interest in them. Those who met them on their way turned their eyes away, feigning not to see them. Or again they would quicken their step, as though they were all of a sudden in a great hurry. Others again refused to open their doors to them—that is to say, they did so on the rare occasion when they did not set their dogs on them!
The more they advanced, the more the doors shut at their passing. Zeus could sense his anger rising inside him. So this was how men loved one another! This was how they respected their duty to be charitable and hospitable! Not even Hermes’ banter could draw a smile from him.
The two wayfarers arrived at long last before a small, dismal-looking house. As soon as they knocked, the door opened and two old people begged them to enter. In that poor hut there was but one room with a floor of beaten earth and two or three pieces of rickety wooden furniture. “We do not have much to offer you,” said the old lady, “but all we can give will be given wholeheartedly.” She was called Baucis and her husband’s name was Philemon. They had lived for more than forty years in that ramshackle house. Zeus looked at the old lady bustling about, rekindling the fire and putting water to boil so she could prepare a soup. Philemon had picked a big cabbage in the garden and he tossed it into the soup. Then he took down their last piece of lard which hung from one of the rafters and added it to the cauldron. Neither had asked a single question. They were making these strangers welcome in their house with natural simplicity. Baucis had slipped a piece of wood under the leg of the wobbly table and had offered blankets to her guests so they could warm themselves up. Philemon was serving them a spicy wine mixed with water.
The Adventures of Hermes, God of Thieves Page 11