Art Inspiration: The Greek Gods Distraction on Olympus: Hermes

“Distraction on Olympus” is a project I worked on with my students at the school I work in.  It was a final project in a drawing club the children where in when I taught them how to draw in the style of comic and cartoon characters, they were most familiar with.  The class had decided to go with the theme of the Greek gods and I would help them draw a scene around that idea.

In the process of creating the scene, the children asked to be represented as the gods in the project.  They choose their own character of who they wanted to be.  One child wanted to be Hermes and I saw that this was a right choice for him.  He was quick on his feet and a sly little fellow who could charm you at one moment and pick your pocket the next.  When I described Hermes to him he was happy with the choice.

Hermes is the son of a union between Zeus and a beautiful nymph Maia.  An extremely gifted baby it was said that he was born at dawn, created and played the lyre by midday and stole the cattle of Apollo by the evening.

The main and important attributes of Hermes are that he was the quintessential trickster and a master of persuasion.  He had many duties but the two main were the divine messenger of the gods and the god that guides the souls to the underworld.

Here is a list of the many qualities of Hermes.

–       Divine Messenger of the gods

–       Guides the souls to the underworld

–       Guide of dreams

–       A prince of thieves and a spy in the night

–       Slayer of Argus, the hundred-eyed giant

–       Devious, ingenuity and a clever talker

–       Lord of flocks and Mt. Cyllene and Arcadia

Every god has his or her own accessories and Hermes is no exception.

–       The Petasus, a broad-brimmed hat with wings

–       Sandals with wings

–       The Caduceus, a herald’s staff that was entwined with two snakes.

I drew Hermes with all three of his accessories and of course flying over Olympus.  With the children, we focused on the gods and their drawing before tackling the background.  I will be presenting a god or to every week until I unveil the final version.  I hope you enjoy the latest god drawing as much as the children.

Hermes
The divine messenger of the gods and the god that guides the souls to the underworld.

Related articles

• Art Inspiration: The Greek Gods Distraction on Olympus: The Muses (paulgauchi.wordpress.com)
• Hermes (ralitmag.wordpress.com)
• The Messenger God, Hermes (ralitmag.wordpress.com)