Inspiration: Greek Mythology, specific god - Hermes // Category: Digital Art

For many years I have been fascinated with the characters in greek mythology, especially the gods themselves. In texts from legendary ancient authors like Homer and Hesiod, we get a hold of varying accounts of these gods, in regards to their origins, characteristics and personalities. These varying accounts also result in many characteristics being attributed to a single god or goddess. My favorite of all these gods is Hermes. Traditionally, he is known as the wing-footed messenger of the gods but he is also known to have had many more (if not the most) responsibilites. He is also known as the psychopomp, one who leads the souls of the dead to the underworld. He was also known for traveling, running, dreams, boxing and shepherding. His clever and cunning personality is only complimented by his youthful and genial appearance. I've always wondered how such a renaissance man of the gods handled so many talents and responsibilities. Exploring his personality through what I've learned through stories has inspired me to try to interpret his burdens artistically. Considering how he was worshipped, Hermes was probably identified in different ways from community to community in ancient times. If he was real, how did he handle living up to such a reputation? How was he able to find his own identity?

You can find a bit more info on Hermes here : [link]
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This piece is a partner to my piece Essence of Myself- Hermes (which is somewhere in my gallery). I hope the people who remember that piece or have seen that piece, can appreciate this as well.


Ball point pen undersketch (you can see it a little)

Open Canvas 3.03 plus
Painter 8
Photoshop 7