Hermes: Herald and Messenger to the god Zeus
Roman name: Hermes
Translation: Mercurius, Mercury
 
A jack of all trades, Hermes is also known as the god of herds and flocks, travelers and hospitality, roads trade, thievery and cunning, heralds, diplomacy, athletics, astronomy and astrology. He also had a lot to do with art, merchants and commerce.
 
Parents: Zeus and Maia

Consort: The nymph Penelopia

Children: Pan
 
Emblems and articles: Herald’s wand, winged helmet and boots
Animals associated with the god: The ram and the hare
 
Mentioned in: The Odyssey, where he gave the hero a magic herb to protect him from the witch Kirke, and many, many other myths.
 
 
 ˜**Your creepy bit of history** – As a newborn, Hermes crawled out of his crib and stole cattle from the god Apollon (pretty crafty kid). This amused Zeus so much that he decided to make Hermes an Olympian god.
 
Sources: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, theoi.com, greekmthology.com
 
His role in the Tides of Atlantis book series:
Hermes is first introduced in the Tides of Atlantis world in Crystal Tide. He finds Kay (FMC) on Mt. Olympus in Xieran’s home. Check out his big debut scene in the series down below.
 
Excerpt from Crytsal Tide:
 
***
Midway down the hall, steam billowed out of an open door, spilling onto the floor. In the middle of all the haze, a naked man stood. Well, there was a small white towel wrapped low around his hips but that was it. He was big. It seemed like all the men she’d been encountering lately were of the supersized variety. This one was covered head to toe with glistening golden muscle of which she could see nearly every inch, especially as the glorious steam started to dissipate.
The humming stopped, ending in a low, amused kind of growl that made Kay bring her eyes up. She’d been mesmerized by his physique but his face was perfection too ─ boyish good looks meets raw masculinity with two of the bluest eyes that she’d ever seen. His blonde hair was slicked back with moisture and one perfect gold brow lifted over his eye. A slow, one-sided smile shaped his mouth as he shifted his weight. He flung the loose towel he was holding up over his shoulder to rest there, hooked in his forefinger. Woof. This guy had to be a model, maybe for the cover of one of Esmé’s books…or a towel company. Yeah, she’d buy towels from him.
“Hello,” he said, “and who might you be?”
His voice was cultured. His tone low like he was speaking just above a whisper but she had no trouble hearing him. It was very sexy
A giant grin spread across his whole gorgeous mouth as he took a step toward her. Kay backed up, eyes widening but she still hadn’t found the nerve to say anything.
“Are you a friend of Xieran’s little lamb?”
He kept moving closer. She kept backing up. Man he was big! Standing at only five three herself, his size was unnerving. Her feet picked up speed as she scampered back out of the hallway until her heel hit the edge of that recessed floor and she started to fall.
His hands shot out, grabbing her right as she was about to go over, then he pulled her up against his shiny moist torso. Wow, just wow. She almost let a whimper out but restrained herself. After a second, he moved back a step to brush at a chunk of hair that had fallen over her eye. Kay shook her head. She probably looked like a Muppet. It must be her lot in life to be ever bedraggled in front of beautiful men.
Looking up into his eyes, she could have sworn the irises sparkled or glittered or something. She knew she had to get out of there…fast.
“Uh…uh…I-I don’t know how I got here,” she stuttered out finally.
He frowned.
“But I’d really like to go home now so…”
She nodded her head vigorously, making it hurt again and sending her hair back into her eye. A look of concern came over his gorgeous face. His too beautiful mouth opened but didn’t have the chance to speak before a new voice broke in from the other side of the room.
“No chance.”
Kay turned her head to look and nearly fell over again. It was her dream guy’s doppelganger from the fountain, the angry version.
“What are you doing here Hermes?”
 He must have been one of those men who was terminally pissed off because he was just as mad now as before.
Kay’s whole body went on high alert as soon as he walked into the room. He was so fierce and intimidating. Too bad he was also incredibly attractive – like, giving the Adonis in the towel a run for his money attractive. Kay shook her head, awestruck, he looked exactly like the King from her vision except that his hair was cut short and he had a sexy shadow beard. Also, he wore way more designer clothes but that didn’t hide the fact that his body was just as muscled and delicious as the man from her dream.
She realized he was scowling at her and snapped out of her trance. Don’t look at him as anything but an enemy she screamed at herself. He kidnapped you out of thin air!
“Good to see you too Xieran,” the big beautiful giant holding her said. He released her arm as he turned to the newcomer. “Did you have a nice trip?”
The other man stared at him, green eyes sparking. If looks could kill, Kay thought. Maybe she could sneak away while these two were busy shooting face daggers at each other and find her way out of here. She moved just a twitch and “green eyes” speared her with his stare. She froze. Maybe not.
“I just came to use your sauna.” Towel guy said from beside her. “When I came out, I found this little wood sprite wandering around.”
He looked down at Kay, giving her a wink. At least he wasn’t as scary as “green eyes” was.
“You have your own sauna.”
“I know,” Hermes shrugged his great shoulders. “I like yours. Besides, we have matters to discuss. But, first, we should see to your guest.”
“She’s not a guest. I found her hijacking the Tides portal on my way back from Miami. She neglected to tell me who she is but she did admit to being from the Underworld.”
“Huh?” Kay and Hermes both said at the same time.
Hermes cocked his head in her direction.
 
For more fun with myths and legends, check out some of my favorite sites: www.theoi.com, mythsbaby.com
 
*Sketch Art by CH Drawing and Painting

Find the Tides of Atlantis series by Amanda V. Shane on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited!

Melinoe : Goddess of Ghosts and Nightmares

Name meaning: Dark Minded
Origin: Greek
Goddess of  Ghosts
Parents: Zeus and Persephone
 
Mentioned in Orphic Hymns (Greek Hymns C3rd B.C. to 2nd A.D.)
“I call, Melinoe, saffron veiled, terrene, who from Phersephone dread venerable queen, mit with Zeus Kronion, arose, near where Kokytos’ mournful river flows…”
source, https://www.theoi.com
 
Emblems and articles: Nothing specific but skulls, bones, snakes, ravens and ghosts are associated with her in depictions
Sacred Animals: Howling dogs
Siblings: Makaria, Zagreus
 
Melinoe is a Greek goddess of the Underworld who presides over offerings to the ghosts of the dead. She’s described as a two-sided being with black limbs on one side and white on the other to represent  both her heavenly and chthonic origins. Melinoe walks the earth at night, followed by ghosts of the dead, frightening humans with nightmares and terrors while they sleep.
 
˜Your creepy bit of history – Legend has it, that when you here dogs howling and barking at seemingly nothing at night, it is because of Melinoe.
 
His role in the Tides of Atlantis world:
Melinoe first appears to Cindy in Moontide when a water veil is opened to the Underworld by some spelled seashells.
 
***
Scene from Moontide where the goddess is mentioned:
 
“The shell must have been enchanted. It opened a water veil, a gateway into another realm.”
“Who… what was that thing that grabbed me, it looked just like Kay at first, but then it wasn’t.”
All things considered, he thought she was taking this rather well. Her need for answers proved that she had strength, despite how terrifying this all must be for her.
“That wasn’t your friend, cara,” Ronan explained. “She may have been here at some point, but I’m sorry to say that she’s probably long gone by now.”
Cindy started to shake her head at his words, but he went on.
“What you saw was part desire and part underworld evil. You want to find your friend. The creature pulled that desire from you to create half of her likeness while the other half was pure demon. As I said, it was a trick. The one you met in the water veil is called Melinoe, a demoness who lures the hopeful into the underworld, then sends a malevolent spirit in their place.”