Roles of Hermes in Athenian drama

Evidence of cult, vase-painting, and literature provide context in which to interpret the functions of Hermes in Attic tragedy and old comedy. There he usually takes one of four roles: chthonios, dolios, son of Maia, and herald/servant; less commonly he is found as enagonios, agoraios, eriounios, strophaios, and the killer of Argos. As chthonios, he is linked with fifth-century religious and magical developments; Aeschylus most consistently portrays him in the light of contemporary practice. Hermes dolios and pais Maias are related, in that "son of Maia" refers to the trickster-god of the Homeric Hymn to Hermes; both have sinister connotations in tragedy, and we may understand Euripides' eponymous Helen to pursue a deliberate rhetorical strategy in choosing to call Hermes "son of Maia" or not. The god's function as herald explains the tenor of his interactions with Prometheus in Prometheus Bound. Hermes as divine herald is also a servant, and on the Aristophanic stage Hermes' servitude emerges as a separate aspect of his characterization under the influence of comic stereotypes. Understanding these functions sheds light on poetic technique and suggests richer readings of Aeschylus' Libation Bearers, Suppliants, and Prometheus Bound; Sophocles' Electra, Philoctetes, and Tracking Satyrs; Euripides' Helen; and Aristophanes' Wealth and Peace.