Hermes/Mercury

Abstract

Hermes/Mercury should be understood as the physical manifestation and divine patron of comedy. The chapter focuses on the portrayal of Hermes in Aristophanes’ Peace and that of Mercury in Plautus’ Amphitryon, and traces each character’s adoption of the abject stance associated with comic heroes, his knowledge of comic conventions, and his general metatheatrical remarks to and about the audience. The god’s association with laughter, performance, and marriage throughout myth, as well as his connection to Dionysus in Athenian religious festivals, further supports his identification as the god of comedy.