The Encyclopedia of World Religions

heroes and hero myths S 197

a god of thieves, merchants, and shepherds and a patron of literature. Perhaps the most important myth about Hermes is the story of his birth. On the day he was born, Hermes invented the lyre, then stole the cattle of A POLLO . Although angered by the theft, Apollo was very fond of the lyre. In exchange for it, he allowed Hermes to keep the stolen cattle. heroes and hero myths Extraordinary human beings and stories about them. The word “hero” comes from the Greek. In ancient Greece heroes were great people from the past. That does not mean they were particularly admirable. For exam ple, Cleomedes of Astypalaea was a champion boxer. One day he went on a rampage and killed 60 schoolchildren. The ancient Greeks found this action as reprehensible as people of today would. But because Cleomedes’s action was so extraordi nary, the Greeks worshipped him as a hero. Heroes were worshipped at what was claimed to be their tombs. The Greeks generally gave heroes the same kinds of SACRIFICES as they gave to gods of the earth. The blood of the animal was drained into a trench. Then the animal was burned up completely. Some of the heroes became central figures in EPIC tales and other legends. Examples include Achilles, Odysseus, Theseus, Oedipus, and Herakles. It is not always clear how these stories related to the WORSHIP of heroes. In the 19th and 20th centuries, scholars of reli gion and folklore came to use the term “hero” in a somewhat different way. For them a hero was a man or woman prominent in mythology but not divine. One of the best known writers about heroes in the 20th century, Joseph Campbell, defined the ARCHETYPE or fundamental image of the hero as fol lows: “The hero . . . is the man or woman who has been able to battle past his personal and local historical limitations to the generally valid, nor mal human forms.” Despite the partial inclusive ness of this definition, Campbell—and many oth ers—tended to conceive of the hero in masculine terms. He most often saw preeminent women in the form of the “great mother.” Some say that this

they involve virtue and HEAVEN . Well known Euro pean depictions of hell include Dante’s Inferno, which describes in delightful detail a descent through the various levels of hell; the English poet John Milton’s Paradise Lost; and the almost surre alistic paintings of Hieronymus Bosch ( c. 1450– c. 1516). heresy Beliefs considered dangerously wrong by religious authority or by popular opinion. The word “heresy” comes from a Greek word meaning “choosing,” in the sense of choosing for oneself rather than in accordance with the consensus of a larger group. In religion, particularly C HRISTIANITY , this term is used to describe a belief considered by the religion’s teaching authorities or mainstream opinion to be false, and dangerous to the SALVA TION of those who hold it. Christianity has always had its heretics, from the G NOSTICISM of the early centuries down to medieval groups like the Albig ensians. At the time of the Protestant R EFORMATION , Protestants and Catholics regarded each other as heretics. Persons regarded as heretics have fre quently been subjected to brutal persecution and horrible punishments, including burning at the stake. Because of this tragic history, the use of the term has fallen out of favor in many Christian circles today. Hermes An ancient Greek god. In character, Hermes is a TRICKSTER . He both marks boundaries and crosses them. The name Hermes is related to “herm.” A herm is a pile of stones used to mark boundaries. In ancient Greek, herms were taken to be images of the god Hermes. Communities practiced local RITUALS at them. As the god of the boundaries, Hermes is ide ally suited to be a messenger. Art often shows him as a messenger, wearing a cap with wings and holding a herald’s staff. He also escorts the souls of the dead to the underworld. Thus, in the last book of the Odyssey he escorts the souls of the suitors whom Odysseus has killed. In addition, Hermes is