The first time Hermes had asked her: “What is that smell on you, my sister?”
And Artemis had replied gravely: “That of babies. Today I have helped a baby come into the world. Because I am the protectress of births. Didn’t you know that?”
Hermes had not known it, and this new mission of Artemis’ intrigued him a great deal. He questioned Artemis so very many times that she finally agreed to take him with her one day.
One night, Hermes heard a discreet light tap on his bedroom door. He woke up with a start. It was Artemis.
“What’s the matter?” he asked, still half asleep.
“Get dressed and follow me. A birth is about to take place,” Artemis answered.
This was enough to wake him up completely. All excited, he followed Artemis and left the palace. Soon they arrived at the doors of another palace. Soft music was coming from its interior. Maidservants came hastily to greet Artemis and Hermes, and led them right away to the bedside of the mistress of the palace. She was lying in an immense bed, and several maidservants bustled around her. Hermes approached the bed and recognized the young woman who lay stretched on it: it was Calliope, the Muse of Poetry. During the great dinners at his father’s palace the Muses, who were nine sisters, sang and danced with Apollo. Each of them represented a particular art. Hermes loved above all to listen to the singing of Euterpe, the Muse of Music. But he also enjoyed a lot the poems recited by Calliope. He was deeply moved to find himself like this in Calliope’s home, just as she was about to give birth.
Artemis had knelt next to the mother-to-be and had taken her hand. She spoke to her with great tenderness. Then she got up again and gave some orders to the maidservants. Right away, the maidservants placed great cauldrons full of water on the fire. When the water was boiling they dipped inside great white towels, then they took them out clean and steaming. Soon clouds of steam had filled the entire room. Hermes observed all this female activity with great astonishment. He looked at Calliope’s belly, perfectly round under the blanket, and he felt himself growing more and more impatient.
The night progressed. Looking through the window, Hermes saw rosy-fingered Aurora driving her chariot. He suddenly heard a cry, a baby’s cry, and this cry brought tears to his eyes. The door opened and Hermes edged his way to the bed. Calliope’s face looked tired, yet radiant with joy. She held in her arms a baby all wrapped up in white swaddles and she was tenderly offering it her breast to suckle. Artemis too seemed exhausted. She was looking at the infant and at the mother without losing her usual expression of sadness. “He is called Orpheus,” murmured the mother. Then she took her eyes off the baby and said to Artemis: “Thank you, thank you for everything.” Artemis made a slight nod with her head and left the room. Hermes followed her.
This was how all births were protected by Artemis. One day, however, white-armed Hera was expecting a new baby. Everyone in the palace of Olympus seemed to have forgotten the tragic birth of Hephaestus. Hermes alone still gave some thought to that baby. While on his errands, he sought it with his eyes under the sea. But without success.
Once more Hera was announcing that she was going to have the most beautiful baby in the world and had every attention lavished on her. The entire palace was waiting for the happy event with impatience. One person alone refused to show any interest, and that was Artemis. So Hera brought her baby into the world without Artemis’ help. The baby howled so loudly at its birth that Zeus called it Ares, the god of War. Artemis did not even come to see Ares.
Hermes asked her: “But doesn’t this baby need your protection too?”
“If you had been born as I was born,” Artemis answered, “you would understand.”
Hermes knew nothing about his sister’s birth. He questioned her about it, yet she refused to answer and walked away. What secret was Artemis hiding then?
To be continued…
EPISODE 21
IN WHICH HERMES LEARNS ARTEMIS’ SECRET
Previously: Hermes has accompanied his sister Artemis, who protects all births. Yet she has refused her protection to Hera, who has just brought a baby into the world. This refusal hides a secret: the secret of Artemis’ birth.
The mysterious words pronounced by Artemis had awakened Hermes’ curiosity. The very next morning, he decided to question his aunt Hestia about it. He found her squatting on her heels in the kitchen, kindling the fire.
“I want to understand what makes my sister Artemis sad. Can you tell me about the secret of her birth?” he said to her.
Hestia replied: “What you wish to know might cause you to have doubts about your own father, my child…”
Yet Hermes insisted so hard that she began her story. “Do you know at all who the nymphs are? They are ravishingly beautiful young goddesses. They live in nature, in the midst of woods and meadows. They are beautiful and wild. Leto was a nymph. She was the daughter of two Titans, Phoebe and Coeus. One day, she went to bathe in a small brook with her girlfriends. She was playing in the water and laughing a great deal as she splashed it onto her companions. She was laughing so hard that your father heard her from the heights of Olympus. He descended on earth right away, gently drew near and watched for a good minute, hiding behind bulrushes and reeds. He thought she was so very beautiful that he decided to draw even closer. Then he turned himself into a small quail. ‘Oh, look at the pretty little quail,’ exclaimed Leto. And she tried to catch the bird. The quail did not fly away, but it moved slowly farther away from the group of young girls. Leto followed it, without suspecting that she was in fact following the god of gods. Soon she had strayed so far away from the other nymphs that Zeus could now allow her to catch him. Leto took the little quail in her arms. And instantly, the nymph found herself changed into a quail in turn! In this way, Zeus was able to declare his love to her. The two quails remained together for a long while. And this is how two children were conceived. Zeus then flew away, and Leto turned back into a nymph.”
Hestia fell silent for a moment, engulfed in her memories. Hermes hung on her every word as she went on with her story:
“As soon as white-armed Hera, Zeus’ wife, heard the news, she flew into a violent rage. ‘I forbid that any known place on this earth should receive Leto!’ she yelled from the heights of Olympus. Your father did not dare to intervene and defend Leto, and so the poor young girl found herself rejected by all, not knowing where she could bring her children into the world. She was desperate. She sat on a rock facing the sea and began to weep. Fortunately for her, Poseidon, the god of the Seas, was moved by her tears. He laid his hand on the young girl’s shoulder and said to her: ‘Come, follow me.’ Leto climbed onto the chariot of the god of the Seas, which was drawn by enormous goldfish. Once they had reached the middle of the ocean Poseidon clapped his hands, and a stretch of land suddenly emerged from the waters. An island with just a few pebbles, dry earth, a palm tree and a date palm. ‘Here is an island for you, it is called Delos,’ he said; ‘you can take shelter here, my pretty one. It is not a place known to anyone, since I have just created it. Hera can do nothing against you here.’ Leto had hardly set foot on the island when she sensed that she was going into labour.
At the foot of the palm tree, she first brought into the world a little girl. It was Artemis. Barely born, Artemis waited with her mother for the birth of her twin brother, Apollo. Yet nine more days had to pass before the boy’s birth. When he finally arrived, seven white swans flew in a ring around the island. The twins had been born. Hera could no longer prevent them from taking their place among the gods. You see, Hermes, Artemis never forgave Hera for having persecuted her mother. Nor for having forced her to bring her children into the world all alone on a deserted island. So this is what makes your sister sad.”
In the half-darkness, Hestia’s face was just barely lit by the embers that she was stirring to stop the fire from going out. She let out a deep sigh. And in an effort to provide some excuse for her brother Zeus, who had not found a way to protect his children, she added
:
“You must not hold this against your father. He too was cruelly persecuted when he was little…”
This made Hermes jump. Little? His all-powerful father had been little?
“O Hestia, tell me about the childhood of Zeus,” he implored. Yet the goddess looked uneasy all of a sudden.
“No, no, no,” she whispered, “one must not speak of such things. Above all, forget what I have just said. It’s best for everyone that way.” It did not take more than this to heighten Hermes’ curiosity.
To be continued…
EPISODE 22
IN WHICH HERMES DISCOVERS CRONUS THE DEVOURER
Previously: Hermes has learnt that his father had been persecuted when he was little. He is eager to discover Zeus’ childhood.
As soon as Hermes was able to leave Olympus, he went back to Mount Parnassus. Pausania received him with her usual gravity.
“Your desire to know the origin of everything is insatiable, my child,” the old nurse said with a smile. “What do you wish to see being born today?”
“My father,” replied Hermes, fixing her hard with his eyes.
She did not falter under the young man’s piercing gaze, but her smile vanished. She sat on a stone outside her cave.
“It will be a tiring journey,” she said simply. Hermes let his head rest on the nurse’s lap. He closed his eyes.
When he opened his eyelids once more, Hermes was in a room where a woman lay asleep. It was the Titanide Rhea. Beside her, a baby was wriggling gently in a cradle. Then the door of the room opened, and Hermes had just enough time to hide behind a curtain before he saw Cronus entering. The Titan had changed somewhat since he had taken over the place of his father Uranus. His face was hollow, his eyes swollen and red. “The Erinyes must be preventing him from sleeping every night,” thought Hermes. Cronus seemed very agitated, yet he was trying to make as little noise as possible so that he would not wake up his sleeping wife. Suddenly, Hermes saw Cronus take hold of the baby with great caution, and—swallow it whole, in one go! Then Cronus tiptoed out of the room. At her awakening, the young mother discovered the empty cradle. “Hestia, Hestia, my baby, where have you gone?” she cried. But she could cry and call all she wanted; her baby had vanished for good. “Strange,” thought Hermes, “this baby is called Hestia, like my aunt, the goddess of the Hearth and Home.” Yet Pausania at that moment drew his head back on her lap. He felt himself overcome by sleep. Everything became blurred.
When he woke up, he was still in the same room. Rhea had just brought a second daughter into the world. This time, she was trying to stay awake to watch over her child. But she was too tired, and in the end she fell asleep. Hermes then saw Cronus come into the room, grab the child and—swallow it whole, in one go! Rhea woke up just at the moment when Cronus was preparing to leave the room.
“Where is my baby? Where is my little Demeter?” cried the wretched mother.
“I do not know,” replied the wily Cronus, “I was only just coming to look at her myself.”
Rhea began to weep noisily. “Strange,” thought Hermes, “this baby is called Demeter, like my aunt, the goddess of the Seasons.” Once more Pausania drew the young god’s head back onto her lap. He fell asleep.
He woke up after the birth of Rhea’s third daughter. The young mother had decided to stay awake no matter what it took. Cronus came to visit her and demanded to take the baby in his arms. Rhea held it out to him and, knowing the baby to be safe, she dozed off for a few minutes. Hermes saw Cronus swallow the baby right away, whole and in one go! When Rhea woke up, Cronus was groaning and he pretended to be searching everywhere for the baby, who had disappeared like the others. “Hera! Little Hera! Where have you gone?” he called out everywhere. Rhea, mad with sorrow, was beginning to suspect Cronus. Twice now the child had disappeared while its father was present. “Strange,” Hermes told himself, “this baby is called Hera, like my father’s wife.” Then he fell asleep on Pausania’s lap once more.
Hermes opened his eyes at the birth of the fourth child of Rhea and Cronus. It was a boy. Looking at Rhea’s face, he understood that this time she was firmly determined not to let go of her child, not even for an instant. “Don’t worry, Poseidon,” she murmured to the child, “I am here, nothing will happen to you.” It was then that Cronus entered the room.
“Give that child to me!” he demanded. Rhea refused. “Give me that child!” he yelled. And as she was still refusing, he snatched the child from her, and right there and then, before her eyes, he swallowed it whole, in one go! Rhea had now discovered the horrible truth.
“But why do you do this? Why?” the poor mother cried.
“Because I have been warned that one of my children would take my place one day!” he grumbled. “I killed my own father so that I could exist, I am not just going to sit and be dethroned by my children!”
Rhea wept, implored, yet the cruel Cronus remained unyielding. “Strange,” Hermes told himself, “this baby is called Poseidon, like my uncle, the god of the Seas.” Once more Pausania drew him back to sleep.
When he woke up, he witnessed the birth of Rhea’s fifth child, a baby called Hades. Rhea was unable to prevent her husband from swallowing this baby as well. Hades went to join his brother and sisters in his father’s belly. “Strange, this time the child bore the name of my uncle, the god of the Underworld,” remarked Hermes.
At each birth, the young messenger of the gods had felt terrified by what he was seeing. When was all this going to stop? Until when would Cronus go on devouring his children?
To be continued…
EPISODE 23
WHICH SEES THE GREAT ZEUS BEING BORN
Previously: Hermes has just seen Cronus swallow each of his children whole and in one go, right after they were born.
On the night when Rhea gave birth to her sixth baby, Hermes was still hiding in her room behind the curtain. Loud cries rang out: the child had just been born, and he was possessed of quite a voice! As soon as he heard the baby’s wailings, Cronus had rushed to the room.
“Hand him over to me,” he demanded of his wife.
“I will do, right away, I am just getting him ready for you…” she replied, bustling over the baby. She had her back turned on Cronus, who waited impatiently for her to finish dressing the child.
“You don’t have to get him dressed, just give him to me as he is!” he raged.
Yet Rhea went on swaddling what Cronus took to be the baby. Hermes looked down to see the infant. And to his surprise, instead of a tiny face, he saw a lump of rock! In fact, the goddess had concealed the newborn under her skirts, and was bundling up a big stone in his place. In his impatience, Cronus did not even become aware of the treachery. As soon as she handed the stone to him, he swallowed it whole, in one go.
“By the way,” he asked Rhea before leaving the room, “what was this one called?”
“He is called Zeus,” replied Rhea. Upon hearing these words, Hermes leapt for joy: he had just witnessed the birth of his own father!
Rhea’s trick had worked. Immediately, the goddess slipped out into the night, carrying her baby concealed in the folds of her dress. She went to knock quietly on the door of Gaia, the Earth Mother. It was she who had suggested to her how to save the baby. Rhea kissed her baby tenderly and told him: “You shall have a king’s destiny, my son, farewell!” Then she entrusted him to Gaia’s care. The baby looked at his grandmother. It was as though he could already understand all that was happening to him. A tender smile sketched itself on Gaia’s lips. The child responded to her smile. “Let us not waste time,” she murmured. “I shall take you where you will be safe from your father’s appetite.” And she went away in the darkness, holding Zeus tight in her arms. Hermes barely had time to cling onto Gaia, and he left with her into the night. After they had crossed the ocean, they reached the top of a mountain which was on an island called Crete. Everything had to be done fast, rosy-fingered Aurora could already be seen far in the distance. Some very beaut
iful young women came out of a cave and surrounded Gaia:
“Oh, how cute he is!” said one.
“He looks so sweet!” added the other.
“We are going to love him so much!” murmured a third.
“Thank you, nymphs,” said Gaia. “Take care of him, and above all hide him well. His father must not find him either on earth or in heaven.” Then, having cast a last glance on her grandson Zeus, she vanished into the night.
Hermes, who had been hiding up a tree better to be able to observe, saw the nymphs go and fetch an extraordinary beast. It was a great goat, who had on her forehead a single horn, long and twisted. This goat was called Amalthea. They brought her close to the baby, and right away he began to suckle greedily. Hermes was quite overcome to be watching his father as a newborn. The nymphs built a golden cradle for the child. And in order to be sure that Cronus would find his son neither on earth nor in heaven they suspended the cradle from branches between the earth and the sky. That’s when Zeus began to cry. These baby cries could be heard far, very far into the distance… They risked being heard by Cronus! The nymphs summoned protecting spirits, who immediately began to clang their spears onto their heavy bronze shields, letting out wild cries at the same time, to cover up Zeus’ own cries. There was no longer any risk of Cronus finding his son again.
“And now close your eyes,” murmured Pausania in Hermes’ ear. “The goat Amalthea was an outstanding wet-nurse to your father: the more he drank of her milk, the more he grew. We are now going to join him again after a lapse of twenty years.” Hermes obeyed, and once he opened his eyes again he discovered a handsome young man, tall and strong, kissing one of the nymphs. It was Zeus, about to leave those who had raised him with such care. When he went to bid farewell to the goat Amalthea, who had fed him so well, Zeus offered her a magic horn. It was a horn which resembled the solitary one that the goat bore on her forehead. “Take this horn, Amalthea, my good nurse,” the young man said to her. “It will always be filled with delicious fruit, fragrant flowers, and all the good things that you’d like to eat. Thanks to this horn of abundance, you will never lack anything, just as I never lacked anything in your company.” Then Zeus joined the shepherds of Mount Ida. There, he became one of them and began his adult life.
The Adventures of Hermes, God of Thieves Page 6
