From Theoi.com:
The principal feature in the traditions about Hermes consists in his being the herald of the Gods and Goddesses ... As the herald of the Gods and Goddesses, he is the God of skill in the use of speech and of eloquence in general, for the heralds are the public speakers in the assemblies and on other occasions. (Il. i. 333, iv. 193, vii. 279, 385, viii. 517, xi. 684; comp. Orph. Hymn. 27. 4; Aelian, H. A. x. 29; Hor.Carm. i. 10. 1.) As an adroit speaker, he was especially employed as messenger, when eloquence was required to attain the desired object. (Od. i. 38, Il. xxiv. 390; Hom.Hymn. in Cer. 335.) Hence the tongues of sacrificial animals were offered to him. (Aristoph. Pax, 1062; Athen. i. p. 16.) As heralds and messengers are usually men of prudence and circumspection,
Hermes was also the God of prudence and skill in all the relations of social intercourse. (Il. xx. 35, xxiv. 282, Od.ii. 38.) These qualities were combined with similar ones, such as cunning both in words and actions, and even fraud, perjury, and the inclination to steal; but acts of this kind were committed by Hermes always with a certain skill, dexterity, and even gracefulness. Examples occur in the Homeric hymn on Hermes (66, 260, 383; comp. Eustath. ad Hom. p. 1337; Hom. Il. v. 390, xxiv. 24; Apollod. i. 6. § 3).
Being endowed with this shrewdness and sagacity, he was regarded as the author of a variety of inventions, and, besides the lyre and syrinx, he is said to have invented the alphabet, numbers, astronomy, music, the art of fighting, gymnastics, the cultivation of the olive tree, measures, weights, and many other things. (Plut.Sympos. ix. 3; Diod. l.c. and v. 75; Hygin. Fab. 277.) The powers which he possessed himself he conferred upon those mortals and heroes who enjoyed his favour...
Another important function of Hermes was to conduct the souls of the dead from the upper into the lower world, whence he is called psuchopompos, nekropomtos, psuchagôgos, &c. (Hom. Od. xxiv. 1, 9, Hymn. in Cer. 379, &c.; Eustath. ad Hom. p. 561; Diog. Laërt. viii. 31; Hygin. Fab. 251.)
The idea of his being the herald and messenger of the Gods and Goddesses, of his travelling from place to place and concluding treaties, necessarily implied the notion that he was the promoter of social intercourse and of commerce among people, and that he was friendly towards humans. (Od. xix. 135, Il. xxiv. 333.) In this capacity he was regarded as the maintainer of peace, and as the God of roads, who protected travellers, and punished those who refused to assist travellers who had mistaken their way. (Il. vii. 277, &c.; Theocrit. xxv. 5; Aristoph. Plut. 1159.) Hence the Athenian generals, on setting out on an expedition, offered sacrifices to Hermes, surnamed Hegemonius, or Agetor; and numerous statues of the God were erected on roads, at doors and gates, from which circumstance he derived a variety of surnames and epithets...
Another important function of Hermes was his being the patron of all the gymnastic games of the Greeks.
28. Ἑρμοῦ, - Hermes (Latin: Mercury), God of Interpretation, Translation, Go-Betweens, Communication, Travel, Herald of the Gods and Goddesses, literally: "essence flow-of meta"
θυμίαμα - incense
λίβανον. - of Lebanon, frankincense
Κλῦθί - call, unlock, core loosen; "hear, give ear to, attend to; to be called or spoken of;" literally "core loosen"
μου, - channel, meta entity
Ἑρμεία, - Hermes, Messenger, Herald, Escort of the Gods and Goddesses
Διὸς - Divine, divine power
ἄγγελε, - one that announces or tells, messenger, envoy, angel, announce, report, bring news
Μαιάδος - of Maia, Goddess of Midwifery; Maia's power, cause delivery/birth to take place (Hermes is the son of Maia)
υἱέ, - child, son, inheritor of the nature of the divine, pure divine-power essence
παγκρατὲς - all-powerful, all-ruler
ἦτορ - heart
ἔχων, - hold fast, possess, essence-of foundation
ἐναγώνιε, - in, within, of, for, among (ἐν) + contest, compete, debate, struggle, struggle for victory gathering, assembly, place of contests, assembly at the national games, (literally: arising corners, at angles) (αγώνιε)
κοίρανε - rule, command, sovereign, lord, master
θνητῶν, - of mortals
εὔφρων, - "cheerful, merry; kindly, gracious; of sound mind, reasonable" = essence pure (εὔ) + watch, guard; deep thinker; care, consideration, take heed, think, care, consideration, thought, attention, reflection, meditation (φρων)ποικιλόβουλε, = various, changeful, diverse (ποικιλό) + counsel, advise; deliberation, consideration; will, determination especially of the Gods and Goddesses; the Senate (βουλε)
διάκτορε - "minister, messenger" = throughout (διά) + core (κ) + pierce, bore, drill, bore through (τορε)
ἀργειφόντα, - Argive/Greek; bright, shining, white; idle, unemployed (ἀργει) + bloody; murder, slay (φόντα) = "slayer of Argus" (Hermes slew Argos, the many-eyed guard of the Goddess Io)
πτηνοπέδιλε, - flying, winged, winged creatures (πτηνο) + sandals, shoes, boots (πέδιλε) = "with winged sandals"
φίλανδρε, - loving (φίλ) + men, the male sex, male qualities (ανδρε) = love of the male sex, love of a husband
λόγου - statement of a theory, explanation, logic, account, reckoning
θνητοῖσι - mortals
προφῆτα, - before (προ) + fate (φῆτα) = interpreter of the Gods and Goddesses, expounder of the will of the Gods and Goddesses
γυμνάσιν - exercise, of the gymnasium
ὃς - entity
χαίρεις - rejoice, be glad, take pleasure in
δολίαις - crafty, deceitful, treacherous, stealthy, strategic, subtle
τ' - too then
ἀπάταις, - cheat, deceive, fraud, trick
τροφιοῦχε, - feed, rear, nurse, provide for (τροφι) + whole, complete (οῦχε)
ἑρμηνεῦ - interpretation, explanation, translation, expression
πάντων, - of all
κερδέμπορε, - horn of an animal (κερ) + bodily frame, construct (δέμ) + furnish, offer, give; Fate, Destiny; means of passage, path, bridge (πορε)
λυσιμέριμνε, - let loose, release, deliver (λυσι) + care, anxiety, object of care or thought (μέριμνε)
ὃς - entity
χείρεσσιν - the hand, hand, paw (χείρ) + essence (εσσιν)
ἔχεις - have, hold, possess, hold fast
εἰρήνης - of peace, Eirene, Goddess of Peace (literally: "essence (of) divine-power flow-of shared-center prevailing shared-center"
ὅπλον - tool, implement, weapon
ἀμεμφές, - above reproach/blame/censure; blameless
Κωρυκιῶτα, - bag, sack (Κωρυκ) + line, stroke, the letter I (ιῶτα) = Kore/Daughter (Κωρυ) + go (κιῶ) + τα = "of the Corycus promontory; of the Corycian cave of Mount Parnassos near Delphi"
μάκαρ, - happy, blessed
ἐριούνιε, - "of uncertain meaning, perhaps speedy or thieving;" = wool (ἐριού) + prevailing (νιε) ?perhaps "wrapped in wool?"
ποικιλόμυθε, - various, diverse (ποικιλό) + myth, tale, story, narrative, word, speech, thing said (μυθε)
ἐργασίαις - work, business, labor, working at, making, manufacture, practice, exercise, produce
ἐπαρωγέ, - help, aid
φίλε - love of
θνητοῖς - mortals
ἐν - in, within
ἀνάγκαις, - necessity, natural need, compulsion, laws of nature, distress, Ananke, Goddess of Necessity
γλώσσης - tongue, tongue as the organ of speech, talking, language/dialect
δεινὸν - marvelously strong, powerful; clever, skillful; terrible, awe-ful; danger
ὅπλον - tool, implement, weapon
τὸ - too then
σεβάσμιον - reverent, honored, venerable, august; that for which awe is felt, an object of awe or worship
ἀνθρώποισι· - human, humans, humanity
κλῦθί - call, unlock, core loosen; "hear, give ear to, attend to; to be called or spoken of"
μου - channel, meta entity (note echo of beginning of hymn)
εὐχομένου, - pray for, long or wish for, pray, utter in prayer = pray for (εὐχο) + mighty, strong (μένου)
βιότου - means of living, life
τέλος - complete, fulfill, end
ἐσθλὸν - good, noble, good, goodness
ὀπάζων - send with, give, take with, add, be with, take as a companion
ἐργασίῃσι, -work, business, labor, working at, making, manufacture, practice, exercise, produce
λόγου -statement of a theory, explanation, logic, account, reckoning
χάρισιν, - rejoice at, be glad, take pleasure in, be grateful, give thanks
καὶ - and
μνημοσύνῃσιν. - remember, Mnemosyne, Goddess of Memory
Further notes:
Hermes is said to have provided an escape for Phrixos and Helle on the ram with the golden fleece (from Theoi.com):
Pseudo-Apollodorus, Bibliotheca 1. 80 (trans. Aldrich) (Greek mythographer C2nd A.D.) :
"The oracle prophesied an end to the dearth if Phrixos were to be sacrificed to Zeus. When Athamas heard this and was pressured by the joint efforts of the inhabitants, he had Phrixos placed on the altar. But Nephele seized both him and her daughter, and gave them a golden-fleeced ram which she had received from Hermes, by which they were borne through the sky over and across the land and the sea."
Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica 2. 1141 ff :
"[Argos addresses his fellow Argonauts :] `An Aeolid called Phrixos came to Aea from Hellas. He reached Aeetes’ city on the back of a ram which Hermes had turned into gold - you can still see its fleece, spread on the leafy branches of an oak."
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