Said to be made of imperishable gold and as swift as any bird, what was the name given to the winged sandals worn by the Greek god 'Hermes'?
Talaria Talaria Talaria (; , or , ) are winged sandals, a symbol of the Greek messenger god Hermes (Roman equivalent Mercury). They were said to be made by the god Hephaestus of imperishable gold and they flew the god as swift as any bird. The name is from the Latin , neuter plural of , "of the ankle". The talaria are mentioned in Homer, who describes them as (, "immortal/divine and of gold"). However, he does not mention wings; those first appear in the "Shield of Heracles", which speaks of (), literally "winged sandals." Later authors repeat this characteristic, for
Hermes Fastening his Sandal Hermes Fastening his Sandal The sculptures of Hermes Fastening his Sandal, which exist in several versions, are all Roman marble copies of a lost Greek bronze original in the manner of Lysippos, dating to the fourth century BCE. The identity of the subject, which may simply represent an idealized athlete, is conventional. No attribute in any of the surviving examples clearly identifies Hermes, who wears neither hat nor helmet; none of the surviving original sandals are represented as winged. A pair of sandals figures in the myth of Theseus, and when the painter-dealer Gavin Hamilton uncovered an example in the