Hermes

Overview

Quotes

Gallery

Relationships

Hermes
General Information
Title	God of Swiftness
Affiliation	Mount Olympus
Keepsake	Lambent Plume
Relationships
Family	Zeus (Father) Maia (Mother) Hades (Paternal Uncle) Poseidon (Paternal Uncle) Chiron (Paternal Uncle) Hestia (Foster Aunt) Demeter (Foster Aunt) Hera (Step-Mother) Athena (Older Half-Sister) Ares (Older Half-Brother) Hephaestus (Older Half-Brother) Artemis (Older Half-Sister) Apollo (Older Half-Brother) Dionysus (Younger Half-Brother) Chronos (Paternal Grandfather) Rhea (Paternal Grandmother) Zagreus (Paternal Cousin) Melinoë (Paternal Cousin) Odysseus (Great-grandson)
Relations	Charon (Best Friend/Fellow Psychopomp) Thanatos (Fellow Psychopomp) Skelly ("Peer Relationship")
Behind the Scenes
Voice	Andrew Marks

“	Hey boss, found you, good. Hermes, at your service. Pleasure! You are the talk of Olympus! Normally I wouldn't get mixed up, but for you, I will be making an exception. Now, come on, we both got places to be!	„
	~ Hermes

Hermes is the Olympian God of commerce, trickery, and travel, as well as the messenger of the gods. He works with Charon to guide souls to their proper place in the Underworld, with Hermes delivering the souls to Charon, for him to ferry them down the Styx the rest of the way (giving Hermes the title of psychopomp, or someone who guides souls to the afterlife, which he and Charon share). He offers boons that enhance Zagreus's speed in various ways, including attack speed and special speed. His boons can also improve Zagreus's dash and cast recovery.

Hermes is one of five Olympian gods (the other four being Demeter, Zeus, Poseidon and Aphrodite) who will not appear in the very first run of a save.

He'll part in Hades II as a spy, inflitrating Chronos's army to gain an edge in the fight.

Characteristics and Personality

Messenger of the Gods, God of Merchants, and Tricksters, Hermes rushes in to help Zagreus escape. Hermes is quite talkative, frenzied, and rarely pauses to take a breath. Despite his other duties, he is also a psychopomp tasked with guiding the souls of the dead alongside Charon.

Hermes is free-spirited, has a bright personality, and is an animated and chatty god. He is well-informed and more aware of the situation than any other Olympian. Hermes speaks extremely quickly, without pauses, making it difficult at times to keep up with him, and causing some things to slip by less attentive ears. His rapid speech is due to the fact that he is always overloaded with messages to deliver.

He has a genuine camaraderie with his colleagues guardians of the dead, even appeasing the feared Charon, who is inaccessible even by underworld standards. Charon doesn't seem to find Hermes' energy tiring, and seems to enjoy his company, although Thanatos and many others think that he is irritatingly excitable to listen to.

Despite the nature of his job dealing with the dead, he is very vivacious. He is a jovial, mischievous god. Even though Hermes seems to be an "open book", he is the most "secretive" among the Olympians, revealing that not even his fellow Olympians know that he is helping Zagreus, and he will omit and keep certain information in secrecy for your own benefit. Although he is Zeus's accomplice, he is hiding the fact that he knows Persephone has returned to the underworld and will keep his mouth shut about it, no matter what it costs.

Physical description

Hermes wears wings on his head and a smaller pair on each of his ankles and boots. He wears a slight smirk, is shown with his caduceus in his hands, and has legs that are firm and adapted for running. He wears a cream-colored chiton held by multiple belts, and with his wing symbol on top, and carries a pouch full of parchments, letters, and trinkets he needs to deliver. He also has a turtle inside his satchel, which is one of his symbolic animals.

History

Before Hades

Even when he was just born, he was incredibly mischievous. With his playful nature, he jumped out of his swaddling clothes and stole Apollo's cattle. To prevent his brother from chasing him, he even threatened to plunder Apollo's temple. What is most known about him is that he is the god of roads, businessmen, and thieves. He once stole the scepter of Zeus, the trident of Poseidon, Apollo's bow, and Ares's sword. His swiftness and dexterity made him the embodiment of vigor, and he was later christened as a messenger of the gods.

He also accompanied the souls of the dead to the underworld of Hades and closed their eyes with the snake rod in his hand. He met Charon, a creepy figure, and they ended up becoming great friends.

Hades

Hermes comes to be aware of Zagreus's escape attempts and lends his own help. However, he requests that his involvement remains hidden, as no one else besides Charon, Skelly and Zagreus himself know he's helping.

He comments on a multitude of different subjects, from his family and colleagues to work related matters, namely his job as a psychpomp, and commonly speaks as if delivering a message, sometimes doing truly that.

Upon Persephone's return to the Underworld, Hermes is aware of the fact, but won't spread the news unless asked to, keeping it to himself in the mean time.

Epilogue

At first skeptical to join given his non-official involvement, Hermes nonetheless comes to the feast and enjoys it with Charon.

He becomes aware of Zagreus' new "escaping arrangement" with Hades, and keeps it to himself.

Affinity

If given Nectar, Hermes will give you the Lambent Plume.

Hermes' affinity gauge is maxed out at 8 hearts.

Favor

Hermes' favor requires speaking with him while having the Lambent Plume equipped and max leveled to 3*. It does not matter how many stacks of its bonus you have.

Codex entry

'...One of the free-spirited sons of Zeus, he is patron to travelers, traders, even tricksters. Youthful in spirit and appearance, he could be mistaken for a common lad, if not for his extraordinary swiftness. None whom I know approach his agility or athleticism. He puts this peerless skill to a specific use, serving as the messenger of Olympus. Vast distances are nothing to him. Yet, there is something more to Hermes: He is the only god upon Olympus who dutifully serves the Underworld, in addition to his Olympian affairs. The Underworld is an orderly place, but the souls of the dead must first be brought to its brink. He has much to do with this. He seems to have ingratiated himself to the boatman, Charon -- notoriously unapproachable even by the Underworld's own. Thus, it is my belief that Hermes, besides his many talents, is the god of more than he appears.'

Quotes

For quotes and dialogue regarding Hermes, please refer to Hermes/Quotes.

Hermes' boon flowchart

Boons

Boons from Hermes function slightly differently to other Olympians. None of his boons occupy Attack, Special, Cast, Dash, or Call slots, as they are designed to be mixed with and support other gods' boons. In addition, none of Hermes' boons can be enhanced with a Pom of Power.

His boons are in a different item pool than other Olympian boons for the purposes of Fated Authority and Charon's shop. His boon can take priority in appearance even if one equips other gods' keepsake. Additionally, his boons will never spawn as the first chamber's reward or in mini-boss encounters.

While Hermes boons can be offered more than twice in a run, you can only obtain two Hermes boons as room rewards regardless of whether or not you purge any prior selections. There is also a flat 50% chance for an additional Hermes boon to appear in the Temple of Styx shop even if you already have two. He never appears in a Trial of the Gods.

Boon	Description	Rarity	Notes	Prerequisites
Swift Strike	Your Attack is +X% faster.	Common: Attack Speed: +10% Rare: Attack Speed: +20% Epic: Attack Speed: +30% Heroic: Attack Speed: +40%	Tier 1 Works in decreasing weapon attack charge time by X%	None
Swift Flourish	Your Special is +X% faster.	Common: Special Speed: +10% Rare: Special Speed: +20% Epic: Special Speed: +30% Heroic: Special Speed: +40%	Tier 1 Works in decreasing weapon special charge time by X%	None
Flurry Cast	Your Cast is +X% faster and fully automatic.	Common: Cast Speed: +20% Rare: Cast Speed: +40% Epic: Cast Speed: +60% Heroic: Cast Speed: +80%	Tier 1 Cannot be combined with Aspect of Beowulf or Aspect of Hera Requires the Infernal Soul Mirror Ability	None
Quick Favor	Your Call charges up automatically.	Common: Auto Gauge Gain: +1% (every 2 sec.) Rare: Auto Gauge Gain: +1% (every 1.5 sec.) Epic: Auto Gauge Gain: +1% (every 1 sec.) Heroic: Auto Gauge Gain: +1% (every 0.5 sec.)	Tier 1	Aphrodite's Aid, Ares' Aid, Artemis' Aid, Athena's Aid, Demeter's Aid, Dionysus' Aid, Hades' Aid, Poseidon's Aid, or Zeus' Aid
Hyper Sprint	For X seconds after you Dash, become Sturdy and run +100% faster.	Common: Duration: 0.5 sec. Rare: Duration: 0.6 sec. Epic: Duration: 0.7 sec. Heroic: Duration: 0.9 sec.	Tier 1	None
Greater Haste	You move X% faster.	Common: Movement Speed: +20% Rare: Movement Speed: +30% Epic: Movement Speed: +40% Heroic: Movement Speed: +50%	Tier 1	None
Quick Recovery	After you take damage, quickly Dash to recover up to X% lost.	Common: 30% lost Rare: 40% lost Epic: 50% lost Heroic: 60% lost	Tier 1	None
Greater Evasion	You have +X% chance to Dodge.	Common: Dodge Chance: +10% Rare: Dodge Chance: +15% Epic: Dodge Chance: +20% Heroic: Dodge Chance: +25%	Tier 1 Dodging allows Zagreus to take zero damage from an attack that would have otherwise harmed him. A dodged attack does not trigger Revenge effects or count as a hit.	None
Greatest Reflex	You can Dash +X more time(s) in a row.	Common: Extra Dashes: +1 Rare: Extra Dashes: +2 Epic: Extra Dashes: +3 Heroic: Extra Dashes: +4	Tier 1	None
Second Wind	After using Call, gain Dodge chance and move speed for 10 Sec.	Common: Bonus Dodge Chance & Move Speed: +30% Rare: Bonus Dodge Chance & Move Speed: +33% Epic: Bonus Dodge Chance & Move Speed: +36% Heroic: Bonus Dodge Chance & Move Speed: +39%	Tier 1	Aphrodite's Aid, Ares' Aid, Artemis' Aid, Athena's Aid, Demeter's Aid, Dionysus' Aid, Hades' Aid, Poseidon's Aid, or Zeus' Aid
Quick Reload	Foes drop stuck in them faster.	Common: Drop Time: 5 Sec Rare: Drop Time: 3.75 Sec Epic: Drop Time: 2.5 Sec Heroic: Drop Time: 2 Sec	Tier 1 Cannot be combined with Aspect of Beowulf Cannot be combined with Crystal Beam, Curse of Drowning, Slicing Shot, or Trippy Shot Requires the Infernal Soul Mirror Ability	None
Side Hustle	Each time you enter a Chamber, gain a bit wealth.	Common: Bonus Wealth per Chamber: +10 Rare: Bonus Wealth per Chamber: +13 Epic: Bonus Wealth per Chamber: +16 Heroic: Bonus Wealth per Chamber: +19	Tier 1 Not affected by boons that modify wealth gain Applies to Temple of Styx mini-chambers	None
Rush Delivery	You deal bonus damage based on any bonus move speed.	Common: Bonus Damage from Bonus Speed: 50% Rare: Bonus Damage from Bonus Speed: 75% Epic: Bonus Damage from Bonus Speed: 100% Heroic: Bonus Damage from Bonus Speed: 125%	Tier 1	Greater Haste, Hyper Sprint, or Lambent Plume (Keepsake Ability)
Auto Reload	You regenerate faster.	Common: Regeneration Time: 2.75 seconds Rare: Regeneration Time: 2.5 seconds Epic: Regeneration Time: 2.25 seconds Heroic: Regeneration Time: 2 seconds	Tier 1 Requires the Stygian Soul Mirror Ability	None
Greater Recall	Your automatically return to you.	Legendary	Tier 3 Requires the Infernal Soul Mirror Ability	Flurry Cast, Quick Reload, or Lambent Plume (Keepsake Ability)
Bad News	Your cast deals more damage to foes without on them. First shot damage: +50%	Legendary	Tier 3 Requires the Stygian Soul Mirror Ability Due to a glitch, this Boon instead provides a global 50% boost to all damage dealt to enemies without on them, not just Cast	Auto Reload or Lambent Plume (Keepsake Ability)

Trivia

• Hermes is the first among the Olympian Gods to become aware of Zagreus' existence due to his frequent work-related visits to the Underworld.
• He is the only one among his siblings to never have a chance of appearing in the first run.
• He's the only Olympian god aware of the Pact of Punishment and its contents.
  • He mentions he requested the time of tight deadline stopped during conversations, implying he was possibly present when the Pact was first created.
• Hermes is the only character in the game wearing footwear, specifically boots.
• Alongside Patroclus, Eurydice and Hades, Hermes is one of the only characters to ever comment on someone else's keepsake, namely Charon's and Skelly's. He's specifically the only god that can offer boons to do that, and also the only one to ever comment on two different keepsakes.
• Hermes can come to comment on some of the shades Zagreus befriends, notably Orpheus and Eurydice. This would be because, according to the myths, he was the one who guided them in their way out of the Underworld. He also mentions he and Eurydice "didn't get a proper send-off last [they] met", reflecting how he was the one that had to then drag her back down after Orpheus failed, which Eurydice herself says.
  • Although he doesn't name anyone, Hermes also comments on a shade he brought who was killed by a spear, was constanly lying and cheating and is still making ammends to this day. This is likely Sisyphus, who is said Hermes had to drag down to receive his punishment after cheating death the second time. Alternatively, it could be a reference to Odysseus, famous for lying and who was killed by his son Telegonus with a spear; however, Odysseus is never present in the game for us to be sure what ammends is Hermes talking about.
• As evidenced by one of his quotes, Hermes is the one that guides Persephone to Olympus. According to the myths, this task was shared with fellow goddess of roads and travels, Hecate, who would guide Persephone through the Underworld while Hermes would guide her during the other half of the way. Since Hecate doesn't appear in Hades, it's possible Hermes is guiding Persephone through the whole trip.
• In his Codex entry, Achilles starts by saying that Hermes is the "patron of travelers, trades, even tricksters", but ends with saying "is the god of more than he appears". This likely references how in Greek Mythology, Hermes is, in fact, the god of many things; however, he's mostly famous and praised for his divine speed, his tricks and his relation to commerce and roads, which is possibly why the game mentions only these.
  • Aside from the previously mentioned domains, Hermes is also the god of boundaries, thieves/stealing, stealth, luck, gambling, wealth, some types of initiation, athletes, gymnastics, shepherds, hospitality, buildings, knowledge, cunning, deceit/lying, disguise, language, comunication, oratory, heralds and messages, music, wit, humor, politics, fertility, magic, medical herbs and sleep. He also guided dreams, is a guardian of doors and introduced/created the alphabet.
    • The majority of his functions are actually shared with some other god, and Hermes himself is mostly considered a minor god in those cases. Furthermore, many are especially shared with Apollo, the one who is said gave him most of his divine powers.
  • Being a Psychopomp, Hermes was said to be Half-Chthonic sometimes.
  • Although not directly a god of cooking or anything of the sort, it's said Hermes once cooked a meal to all Olympians, and his son Cérix would do the same to the King of Athens of his time.
    • The recipe he accidentally starts saying to Zagreus might be a reference to this. Otherwise, it just shows how overworked he is.
  • Although not an official God of Strength, it's said Hermes once defeated Ares in a wrestling match. Hermes is also the father of Palaestra, the Goddess of Wrestling, and Autolycus, the one who taught Heracles wrestling.

Additional notes

For additional information on Hermes that does not pertain to Hades, see Wikipedia's article: Hermes

• Hermes seems to be the only Olympian God that Zagreus actively interacts with that knows that Zagreus is continually "failing" to get out of the Underworld. How he attained this information is unknown, but could be attributed to his speed and access to Charon on a normal basis. While in the majority of his lines it's obvious he's in Olympus or the surface, others seem to be face-to-face interactions with Zagreus, which would make him the only Olympian who knows Zagreus in person before the feast. He also states that he is fine with keeping the information secret, possibly due to his "God of Trickery" nature.
• While never stated in the game, the fandom often calls Hermes's turtle Chelly, short for Chelone. In the myths, Chelone was a lazy nymph who refused to go to Zeus and Hera's wedding, prefering to stay at home. Hermes was then tasked with her punishment: he threw her and her house into the river and transformed her into a turtle, bound to carry her home wherever she goes. Some versions say Zeus ordered Hermes to carry the task upon noticing the nymph wasn't present, while other versions say it was Hermes himself who noticed her absence.
  • Other accounts regarding Chelone have her as the turtle Hermes murdered to create a lyre, since she was from Arcadia just like him, but from the neighbouring mountain where he was born.
  • Some accounts describe Chelone as a turtle right away, just as her name implies. Others do hint at a former human-like nymph form.

• A conversation with Skelly will reveal that both he and Hermes are aiding Zagreus' escape attempts at Charon's behest.
  • Hermes is also privy to the information that Persephone returns to the House of Hades. He asks Zagreus for permission to spread this information as well, keeping the ruse a secret to the remaining Olympians.