The case for Hermes as the god of translators
and interpreters is a clear and compelling one. While some
European translators have campaigned for St. Jerome as the patron
saint of translation, there are probably some good reasons, with all
due respect to the translator of the Vulgate, for having a god of
translation rather than a saint. First of
all, in global terms Asians and others outside of Europe are more
likely to respond to ancient Greek traditions than to Christian ones
(as they do when they attend the Olympic Games), since similar
"gods-of-the-road" are revered in Japanese, Chinese, and even Mayan
culture.
Furthermore, the circumstances surrounding the
"divinity" of Hermes may open the way to some surprising new
insights into translation history and broaden the scope of
Translation Studies as a whole. Hermes was par excellence the
god of interpreting, of quick-wittedness, of wily improvisation,
while translation, like writing itself, was a later
development. Several current schools of Linguistics have their
grounding in ancient Greek works on grammar, but as we shall see,
the Greeks themselves, following Plato, looked to two authorities
where language was concerned: grammarians AND interpreters.
While grammarians have until recently rooted their quest for rules
and their sometimes dubious claims of universality in the structure
of a single language, interpreters have necessarily always been
concerned with at least two or more languages and the frequently
jagged interface between them. And as will be explained, the
tale of Hermes can also open up unexpected vistas onto the
_prehistory_ of interpreting, an area usually regarded as beyond our
study, and perhaps even help to unravel the mystery of the origins
of language itself.
It should be added that Hermes of course also
acted as divine messenger, presided over commerce and travel (both
clearly linked to translation), and was the tutelary god of all the
arts and crafts, including magic and matrimonial match-making.
We may perhaps forgive him if he was also the god of thieves and
deceit, since this function may spring somewhat naturally from some
of his other attributes respectively.
Background
information