\paperw4260 \margr0\margl0 \plain \fs20 \f1 \b \cf7 Hermes and the Cattle of Apollo \par
\b0 On the very day of his birth,\cf0 \b \cf4 \ATXht12 Hermes\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 freed hi
mself from the bands in which he had been wrapped by the divine\cf0 \b \cf4 \ATXht11301 Maia\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 \cf7 and, climbing out of the sieve that served him as a cradle, planned his first exploit: to steal the cattle that his brother\cf0 \b \cf4 \ATXht9 Apollo\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 was tending for King\cf0 \b \cf4 \ATXht10106 Admetus\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 \cf7 of Thessaly. He made off with fifty heifers, making them walk backwards from the pasture (or binding their hooves with twigs of myrtle).\cf0 \cf7 Dr
iving them all night, he took them to \b \cf4 \ATXht11638 Pylos\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 and hid them in a cavern. He was seen by the herdsman Bathus, who promised to keep quiet. Hermes turned him into a stone when he discovered his betrayal. At Pylus, the young
thief sacrificed two of the finest animals, dividing them into twelve portions to be offered to each of the twelve gods of\cf0 \b \cf4 \ATXht11507 Olympus\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 , including himself, and then returned to\cf0 \b \cf4 \ATXht10337 Cyllene\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 . At the entrance to his cave he came across a turtle and, instinctively, fashioned a musical instrument out of it: he emptied the shell, attached two canes to it and stretched seven strings made from the guts of the cows over them. And then, hav
ing invented the lyre, he got back into his cradle and awaited events.\par
Apollo was not slow in arriving (he had spoken to Bathus) and complained to Maia about the theft, threatening to hurl the little thief into Tartarus if he did not reveal the hidi
ng place of the loot. She showed him her son, peacefully wrapped up in his cradle: a newborn child, it was plain to anyone, could not be guilty of stealing cattle. But Apollo did not allow himself to be deceived: he picked up Hermes and carried him to Ol
ympus, where he accused him of the theft in front of his father\cf0 \b \cf4 \ATXht8 Zeus\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 . Greatly amused, the god ordered the baby to give back the animals he had stolen, ignoring his repeated denials and terrible tantrums. Peace betwee
n Hermes and Apollo was sealed with the gift of the lyre that the new god made to his elder brother.
