The statement Hermes was Patron of Thieves is an unfortunate legacy of AD&D and has little to do with the actual "cult of Hermes". In the Homeric Hymn to Hermes, young Hermes steals and conceals cows belonging to his brother. When his sorry butt is hauled before Zeus, Hermes at first denies all knowledge of the cattle theft. When that doesn't work, Hermes exploits his theft as a means of obtaining a quite distinct divine status and a place among the Immortals. Hermes was invoked as a mediator, a source of clever inspiration, and as a male fertility figure - not the patron of some non-existent class of "thieves". For more information I strongly recommend "Religion in the Ancient Greek City", Louise Bruit Zaidman and Pauline Schmitt Pantel, Cambridge University Press.
Orlanth, as the craftiest and youngest of the storm gods, no doubt has myths of his precocious youth similar to Hermes. Folk who might want to do something crafty and precocious (like steal something) likely invoke Orlanth in his youth for luck - but this does not make it a Thief Cult per se.
The wise and learned Sandy Petersen writes:
>>the Orlanthi concept of "crime" is rather different from our conception
of "crime".
>This is a very important point, and one that is easily forgotten
>by us moderns. The Orlanthi do _not_ have any kind of Hammurabi legal
>code, and their approach to crime is extremely different.
I don't think that this point can be emphasized enough! An Orlanthi "criminal" is an "outlaw" who is the same thing as a "foreigner without any protection" - fair game for anyone. Being an "outlaw" in Orlanthi society is very close to a death sentence - you are cut off from your kin and your clan and have none of the social support necessary to survive. You either become a bandit at the edge of society, move to a another community AND get the protection of that community, or get cut down like a wild dog. Probably the second option is the most common.
> "Career criminals" in the modern sense don't really exist for
>the Orlanthi. If someone is really bad, he might get disowned, outlawed,
>and become a bandit, but you don't have professional burglars, horse
>thieves, or second-story men. Well, maybe horse thieves, but that's an
>activity the whole family can enjoy.
Horse thieves aren't usually viewed as criminals but as raiders. Unless they steal from their own clan. . .
>Of course, in urban areas, the basic Orlanthi social system
>begins to break down -- clans and tribes don't function really well in
>these kinds of conditions, and so some kind of tradition-based law,
>enforced by religious leaders, wise men, and family heads partially
>replaces the old-timey subjective rural justice.
I also believe that in urban areas the institution of the clan is replaced to some extent by strong patron-client relationships which fulfills the clan's social and legal function.
Jeff
End of The Glorantha Digest V5 #476
Powered by hypermail