Greek: Hermes, the son of Zeus and Maia, the god of commerce and messenger of the gods in Greek mythology; identified by the Romans as Mercury; however, some of the words in this unit come from Hermes tris megistos, Hermes Trismegistus, literally, "Hermes, Thrice the Greatest" referring to the Egyptian god Thoth, who was identified with the Greek god Hermes, of science and arts; in this unit.