How old was Hermes when he was messenger god?

Answer 1

I don't know, but he pulled his first "trick" when he was just a toddler. The story goes that he stole his brother's, Apollo's, oxen. He then snuck them out of the pasture by making them walk backwards and tying brush to their tails so that they would erase their own tracks. However, Apollo got wind of it and arrived at the cave where the oxen were hidden, demanding that Hermes hand over the cattle. Hermes however had made an instrument out of 2 ox's hamstrings, and played it before Apollo. Apollo was so enchanted by the music that he forgave his brother and claimed the instrument as his own. This instrument became to be known as a lyre. A U shaped instrument with strings and a sound box.