Mythology, Religion & Legend — Power Ranking TOP 100
I wrote a book ranking the most powerful gods, monsters, and heroes from world mythology, religion, and legend! The ranking is heavily influenced by my own perspective, but every placement is grounded in the actual lore and episodes from each mythology, so I think it makes for a satisfying read.
In this post, I’d like to introduce some of the characters featured in the ranking. There are many more beyond the ones mentioned here, so if you’re interested in mythology, religion, or legend, I think you’ll enjoy it!
Rank 71: Hermes (Greek Mythology)
Overview
Hermes is one of the twelve Olympians and is depicted as an exceptionally versatile deity in Greek mythology, serving as the “messenger of the gods,” “guardian of travelers and merchants,” “patron of thieves,” and “god of sports,” among many other roles.
He is also known in myth as a trickster figure (similar in some ways to Loki in Norse mythology), having stolen the cattle belonging to Apollo shortly after his birth and engaging in various pranks throughout the myths.
While Hermes is not a warrior god by nature, his combat ability is expected to be reasonably high. He slew Argus Panoptes — the hundred-eyed giant that Hera posted as a watchman to prevent Zeus from meeting other women — and participated in the Gigantomachy, where wearing Hades’ helm of invisibility he defeated the powerful giant Hippolytus.
However, he lulled Argus to sleep with music before killing him, and ambushed Hippolytus while invisible — suggesting he does not possess overwhelming physical combat power.
Why This Ranking
Without his equipment, Hermes’ power is considered to be roughly that of an ordinary war god. With his equipment, however, he can be regarded as possessing upper-tier combat power.
The reason: the invisibility of Hades’ helm, the mobility of the Talaria winged sandals, and surprise attacks with the Harpe — these are virtually impossible for an ordinary war god to defend against.
While Perseus uses a similar set of equipment, Hermes is a full deity where Perseus is a demigod hero, so Hermes wielding these items would demonstrate even greater power. His offensive capability, too, is clearly far superior to Perseus judging by his feats against Argus and Hippolytus — meaning only beings with superior divine authority could truly counter him.
For these reasons, I placed him at this position in the ranking.
